Evacuations lifted after Bridge Fire shuts down Auburn State Recreation Area trails

Update: Cal Fire said around 5:30 p.m. that all evacuation warnings and orders were lifted for the area; however, the state park remains closed. Authorities are allowing traffic in some areas, though stopping and parking in the area is prohibited.

Original story:

One of the Sacramento region’s most popular trail networks is closed on Labor Day as firefighters work to build containment lines and stamp out the 300-acre Bridge Fire that ignited on Sunday.

Auburn State Recreation Area is closed at the popular Confluence area at the junction of Highway 49 and Old Foresthill Road. The closure in the evacuation order zone also applies to the often-crowded trails in the area as well as upper and lower Lake Clementine, Ruckachucky/Drivers Flat Road and Mammoth Bar.

Areas farther north in the Clipper Gap area remain under evacuation warnings, according the the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

Crews spent Sunday night lighting backfires in the area to help improve containment lines. Cal Fire on Monday said crews would work to strengthen those lines and also be on the lookout for spot fires in the American River Canyon drainage.

Wind-thrown embers on Sunday caused the fire to hop across roads and trails and forced people recreating in the area to evacuate, along with nearby residents. While the community of Foresthill was not under evacuation orders, the road closure cut the area off and law enforcement officers were continuing to escort residents who live there were being escorted to their homes.

The fire was 5% contained on Monday morning and no structures had been damaged or destroyed, according to Cal Fire.

One firefighter was injured. Details on the injury were not immediately available.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This story was originally published September 6, 2021 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Evacuations lifted after Bridge Fire shuts down Auburn State Recreation Area trails."