Fire chases Yuba residents from homes

Fire scorched southern Yuba County Monday afternoon, forcing hundreds of residents to flee from their homes and claiming four houses.

The fire, which also charred an outbuilding, broke out in the riverbottoms off Myrna Avenue in Olivehurst around 3:30 p.m. and quickly spread south in winds that reached 27 mph. The cause is under investigation. Fire departments from around the area also battled several smaller fires from Hallwood to south Yuba City.

Melanie Oakes, spokeswoman for Yuba County Sheriff's Department, said by 8 p.m. the most active parts of the fire were on the river side of the levee off Myrna Avenue.

"They've stopped forward progress, but it is not fully contained," Oakes said.

Oakes said four residences and one outbuilding were lost in the fire as well as lumber from a business off Feather River Boulevard.

Oakes did not have information on acres burned or injuries as of 9:15 p.m.

Yuba County sheriff's Lt. Shaun Smith said the fire jumped the levee and caused several spot fires south of the origin because of the wind.

Crews from Linda, Olivehurst, Sutter County, Marysville, Wheatland and Cal Fire responded to the blaze, and Cal Fire helicopters dropped buckets of water from the nearby Feather River. Yuba County Sheriff's Department, Marysville police, Wheatland Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol assisted in evacuations and directing traffic.

Hundreds of homes were evacuated between Feather River Boulevard and Arboga Road from Myrna Avenue south to Broadway Road.

Myrna Avenue, Curtiss Way and David Place remain closed late into the night and evacuations were still in place as the paper went to press.

A temporary evacuation center was set up at the American Legion Hall at the intersection of Grande Avenue and Feather River Boulevard in West Linda.

The Yuba County Office of Emergency Services also set up a permanent evacuation center at the Olivehurst Community Center at Olivehurst and Fifth avenues.

Animals were transported by emergency personnel to a safe location. For information on missing animals, including large animals, call animal control at 741-6478 or Yuba County's 24-hour dispatch center at 749-7777.

Firefighters labor hard

• Houses in two neighborhoods in south Yuba City were threatened by a grass fire that moved quickly in high winds over a vacant equipment yard and through the tall, dry grasses of an old orchard on Sunday. Firefighters from Yuba City, Sutter County, Oswald-Tudor and Live Oak helped fight the 6-acre blaze that threatened homes along Reed and Muir roads. No buildings were burned, and no one was injured. Yuba City Batallion Chief Robert Bills said the fire apparently started on the side of the road. The cause is under investigation.

• Two mobile homes were threatened by a grass and brush fire that burned between 7 and 10 acres along Plantz Road south of Highway 20 in Hallwood. Engine companies from Marysville, Loma Rica, Linda, Olivehurst and Wheatland joined in the fight. No structures were damaged, and no one was injured, Marysville Capt. Dale Skinner said.

• Live Oak Boulevard was shut down as Yuba City firefighters and others fought to small fires in the area. The first was a vegetation fire along Live Oak Boulevard, the other a grass fire along Highway 99 south of the Loma Crossing. No structures were threatened.