Forward progress stopped on Pay Fire near Placerville airport; evacuations remain in place

Firefighters are taking the upper hand on a wildfire that burned around Placerville’s airport and threatened homes after it broke out Saturday.

Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado unit said Sunday morning that crews halted forward progress on the Pay Fire, which ignited just after 2 p.m. near Paydirt Drive and Denim Court. The fire quickly raced northeast, prompting a swath of evacuations that remain in place. Cal Fire officials said the fire was holding within retardant and dozer lines.

The fire, less than a mile north of the Moccasin Fire burn area, was 77.5 acres as of Sunday morning, unchanged from Saturday night’s updates as crews bumped containment to 5%. In an update, Cal Fire AEU thanked the multiple agencies that responded to fight the blaze, including the U.S. Forest Service and personnel from El Dorado County, Diamond Springs, El Dorado Hills, Rescue, Georgetown, Garden Valley and Pioneer.

Several areas remain under mandatory evacuations, including areas encircling Placerville Airport. Residents of homes around Lions Park — areas including Country Club Drive, Duden Drive, Barrett Drive and Cedar Ravine Road — were allowed to re-enter the area but remain under voluntary evacuation notices.

“As fire personnel work today to combat the fire, please be patient with all the emergency response resources,” the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said. “The evacuation orders are in place for the safety of all. If you do not need to enter the evacuation order zone, then please stay out.”

Detailed evacuation information is available from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office through the Perimeter website .

The Sheriff’s Office said an evacuation shelter was set up at the El Dorado Library’s Placerville branch, 345 Fair Lane and an overnight shelter was set up at Union Mine High School, 6530 Koki Lane, El Dorado . Officials also set up a shelter for animals at the West Slope Animal Shelter, 6435 Capitol Ave., Diamond Springs .