April 12--Part of Red Corral Road near the Amador County community of Pioneer will be temporarily closed beginning Saturday while crews work to extinguish a fire inside a mine.
The federal Bureau of Land Management announced that the closure will affect about a mile of the road from one mile north of the junction with Highway 26 to a mile south of the intersection with Tiger Creek Road. The closure is needed to provide access and operating space for emergency vehicles. It will not affect access to homes, but it will limit access to some recreation areas on public lands, according to a BLM news release.
The fire broke out today inside an adit, or entrance, leading to an underground mine along Red Corral Road. It is burning mine timbers and debris, but is not currently threatening homes, officials said. CalFire crews are working to contain the blaze to the mine adit and prevent it from spreading to adjacent wildlands.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Officials ask the public to stay away from the area during the firefighting activities. They also stress the importance of outdoor fire safety, as vegetation is rapidly drying due to drought conditions.
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