Sunday fires burn parts of county

Firefighters in Calaveras County were busy Sunday battling several blazes scattered from Copperopolis to White Pines.

Cal Fire is investigating the cause of a 17-acre fire that erupted about 4 p.m. on the south side of Highway 4 about 300 feet east of the O’Byrnes Ferry Road intersection, according to Copperopolis Fire Capt. Keith Cantrell.

Cantrell said personnel from the Copperopolis, Altaville-Melones and Murphys fire protection districts helped contain the blaze with Cal Fire crews in about two hours.

One Cal Fire firefighter was treated and released for minor injuries, Cantrell said.

He said the fire burned mostly grassland with some scattered oak trees on flat terrain and firefighters were able to stop its spread before it reached Copperopolis Mountain.

“Uphill (firefighting) is not a lot of fun,” Cantrell said.

Another fire broke out about 8:30 p.m. just north of White Pines Lake near Arnold and burned about 1.2 acres before crews were able to contain it, said Cal Fire spokeswoman Lisa Williams.

The flames were extinguished sometime during the night and one engine was sent Monday to monitor the area, Williams said.

Earlier that same day, a fire on the 2000 block of Stallion Way in Angels Camp burned a quarter-acre of vegetation. That fire was reported at 6:57 a.m., according to a Cal Fire report.

The cause of both of the smaller fires were also under investigation, Williams said.