Gann Fire at 10,373 acres, arrest made

After nearly three days, there is 19% containment on the Gann Fire burning south of New Hogan Lake in Valley Springs. The size grew exponentially due to firing operations, according to officials, who also shared that a man taken into custody is facing charges in connection with the wildfire.
Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) law enforcement officers shared that they had arrested Herbert Wayne Smith, 65, of Valley Springs, on Monday following an origin and cause investigation that determined Smith was responsible for recklessly causing the Gann Fire. Officials noted the investigation remains in active status.
Smith was arrested for California Penal Code § 452(c) – Recklessly Causing a Fire. The investigation revealed Smith was operating equipment capable of producing sparks in vegetation without complying with the fire prevention requirements of California Public Resources Code § 4427, which requires individuals using spark-producing equipment near wildland fuels to clear flammable vegetation around the work area and maintain required firefighting tools. The investigation also found violations of Public Resources Code § 4422(b), which prohibits allowing a fire to escape from a person’s control and spread beyond the property where it originated.
Officials said the arrest and investigation was handled with assistance from the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and that the case was submitted to the Calaveras County District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution.
Gann Fire update
The Wednesday morning and midday acreage was reported at 9,363.4 acres, a gain of 2,868 acres from Tuesday evening, when the wildfire was mapped at 6,495 acres. However, shortly after 5 p.m. the size was reported at 10,372.7 acres. Temperatures climbed into the upper 90s while humidity remained low and smoky conditions prevailed. The next two days are anticipated to be even warmer with temperatures hitting and exceeding the century mark.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal fire) reported there are 1,623 state and local fire personnel assigned to this incident, which is being operated under the unified command of Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and Cal Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit (TCU) with Cal Fire Incident Management Team 6. Assets include 50 engines, 8 water tenders, 4 helicopters, 16 dozers, and 16 hand crews.
Although the official statistics did not yet reflect structural or other losses, a Sacramento TV station recording video at the scene showed footage of one residence that had burned. By Wednesday, mid-morning, a communications associate from the website Gofundme sent out a bulletin reporting that two campaigns had been set up for two families whose homes perished in the flames.
One of the campaigns, to help raise $10,000 to tide over a couple with four children who lost everything had by Wednesday late afternoon raised over $3,100 (gofundme.com/f/help-calaveras-county-family-rebuild-after-fire).
The other, for a couple who lost their home and animals and have no fire insurance so far has raised over $7,000 towards a $14,000 goal. gofundme.com/f/help-cj-and-julia-rebuild-after-the-gann-fire.
According to CCSO, which is now the county’s OES, current mandatory evacuation remain largely the same and include the following areas: Zone CCU-109; Zone CCU-110; Zone CCU-139; Zone CCU-140; Zone CCU-147; Zone CCU-130-B. The latter zone was broken up into CCU-130-B and the much smaller CCU-130-A, which was moved into the category of evacuation advisory. The area covers a small area at the top of :Pool Station Road in San Andreas and a couple of streets directly off it including Church Hill Road. According to sheriff’s officials, Zone CCU-110-B contains the Resource Connection of Amador and Calaveras Counties Food Distribution Center, aka, the Food Bank. Located at 206 George Reed Drive in San Andreas, it will reopen and continue to operate during its normal business hours as of Thursday, Aug. 6. For additional information, contact the Food Bank at (209) 754-1257.
CCSO spokesperson Lt. Jason Waite provided breakouts for the current evacuation warning zones, adding that the listed streets were being provided as a general reference to help identify the areas and residents should refer to the county’s Genasys mapping interface to identify their zone and monitor for any updates.
The warning areas are:Zone CCU-111 – Calaveritas Road, Cement Plant Road, O’Connell Lane, Buckskin Way, Knief Lane, Edgewood, East Oak Park Drive, Park Drive, Airport Road; Zone CCU-131 – Fourth Crossing Road, Fricot City Road, Dogtown Road, San Domingo Road, Sanctuary Lane, Schmauder Mine Road, Albright Court, Lakeside Drive; Zone CCU-148 Finnigan Lane, Cuneo Road, Stockton Road; Zone CCU-153 Appaloosa Road, Pinto Road, Pony Way, Buckskin Road, Sorrel Way, Hunter Street, Paint Road, Chestnut Way, Dunn Road, Filly Lane, Morgan Road, Stallion Way, Gelding Road.
Full street closures are: Bear Creek Day Use Area at Hogan Dam Road and Hogan Dam Road at Hunt Road; Pool Station Road at Cement Plant Road and Pool Station Road at Highway 4.
The Evacuation Center remains open for displaced residents and their domesticated animals at Valley Springs Veterans Hall, 189 Pine Street 95252. Livestock Evacuation is to Calaveras County Fairgrounds, 2465 Gunclub Road, Angels Camp 95222. Call (209) 736-2561 ext. 101. Additionally, The Amador County Sheriff’s Office is assisting with livestock evacuation and transportation in partnership with OES. If you need assistance with transporting livestock, call (209) 419-2000. The address where livestock will be taken is Laughton Ranch, l90 Clinton Road, Jackson
Many cooperating agencies are currently assisting with the Gann Fire. Among them: Calaveras County Probation, the Sheriff’s Offices of Amador, Tuolumne, El Dorado, Alpine and Placer counties; Manteca and Sutter Creek police departments.
FEMA approves Gann Fire assistance
In related news, in response to Calaveras County Sheriff Rachelle Whiting declaring a local emergency in Calaveras County due to the Gann Fire, the FEMA Region 9 Administrator released a statement Wednesday an authorization for the use of federal funds to assist the state of California in combating the wildfire.
FEMA officials shared that the state of California on Tuesday had submitted a request for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) for the Gann Fire. Also reported in the filing, at the time of the request, the fire was threatening approximately 919 homes in and around Copperopolis and San Andreas and that mandatory evacuations had taken place for approximately 900 people. FMAGs provide federal funding for up to 75% of eligible firefighting costs. FMAGs are approved through FEMA to assist in fighting fires that threaten to become major disasters.
Eligible costs covered by FMAGs can include expenses for field camps, equipment use, materials, supplies and mobilization, and demobilization activities attributed to fighting the fire.