Wildfire near Camp Sherman grows to 80 acres

Ay lightning-sparked fire nine miles north of Camp Sherman grew four-fold to 80 acres Monday, prompting the evacuation of three campgrounds and closure of two forest roads as crews fought the fire in steep, rugged terrain.

The biggest concern for firefighters is the tough location of the Bridge 99 Fire.

“Very steep slope, a lot of rolling trees, rolling rocks, a lot of hazards in the area,” said Vince Grace, incident commander.

The steep terrain makes it difficult for firefighters to safely tackle the blaze, making the use of a helicopter even more crucial.

“We’re taking advantage of the upslope on this one by using heavy equipment such as (bull)dozers and crews to try to work on the containment line on the west side of the fire,” Grace said.

As of Monday afternoon, Forest Service Road 1235 was closed, as well as the Allen Springs, Lower Bridge and Pioneer campgrounds.

Campers had to evacuate early Monday morning, but Camp Sherman is not affected.

Campers and other visitors to the area were relieved the fire had not interrupted their plans.

“We heard about it when we first got here,” said Paul McDonald, camping with his family from Ashland. “A ranger came around and told us that a few people are looking for campgrounds, as they’ve been pushed out of the ones further north.”

“When people in the Valley hear about it, they start calling us and asking if there is a lot of smoke and that sort of thing,” said Steve Newman, who works at Camp Sherman. “As you can see, there isn’t any. So we’re counting on people to enjoy the area, and it’s business as usual.”

Over 100 firefighters were working non-stop, but they do say it could take up to a week for the fire to be fully contained.