Update: At least 5 people injured in Canyon Zone Fire rescued from Del Puerto Canyon
At least five civilians requesting medical help were found on Del Puerto Canyon Road late Wednesday afternoon suffering from injuries from the Canyon Zone Fire.
CalFire’s SCU unit said in a news release issued at 5:45 p.m. that crews were “treating and evacuating citizens that were injured” in the fire.
Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirkse said “five to seven” people, including one with major burn injuries, were picked up near Mile Marker 10 and taken by ambulance for medical treatment.
Dirkse said someone evacuating on Monday reported that workers at an illegal marijuana grow remained at the ranch to attend to the property.
He could not confirm if those taken out on Wednesday were the workers at the illegal grow, or who they alerted to come for help. He did say his department would be investigating any ties they had to Monday’s report.
He said his department tried to fly a helicopter into the area on Monday, but could not do so because of the fire.
He said on Wednesday that he was able to fly from the canyon to Frank Raines Park to assess the damage, and found that more than half the buildings, which he described as either houses, hunting shacks or outbuildings, did not have noticeable damage.
He said the helicopter would be back Thursday when deputies could do a more complete search of the canyon. On Friday, they planned to assess damage west of Newman. They could not get to that area on Wednesday because of the fire.
The Canyon Zone Fire is part of the larger SCU Lightning Complex, which grew Wednesday afternoon to 102,000 acres. Only 5% containment has been reached on the blaze that has touched five counties.
Evacuation orders have been given to the following areas: Del Puerto Canyon Road Mile 1 to Mines Road and Mines Road to Rank Raines Park. Evacuation orders are to those south of Diablo Grande Parkway and the Diablo Grand community.
This story will be updated with further developments
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 7:09 PM.
