PORTERVILLE (KMJ) — All evacuation orders for the Pier Fire have been lifted, in a move described as “very good news” by Tulare County.
“We can lift all evacuation orders for the mountain communities that we have in place, open up Highway 190 to all traffic, and allow general public back up into the area,” says Tulare County’s Carrie Monteiro.
The order was made official 10am Monday, after an earlier decision by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Cal Fire, as well as other responding fire crews. The residents of Alpine Village, Camp Nelson, Cedar Slope, Doyle Springs, Mountain Aire, Rogers Camp, Pierpoint Springs, Sequoia Crest and Wishon, are all expected to start returning home.
“The majority of the communities affected were under mandatory evacuation orders for quite a long time. We’re talking about two weeks, we estimate about 750 homes.”
But residents are being asked to be careful as fallen rocks could make the highways difficult to navigate.
“We had a lot of vegetation burned. A lot of those rocks, and vegetation holding them back, have become insecure. The fire also damaged a lot of weakened trees.
“So we want residents to be aware of their surroundings.”
TULARE CO: State Route 190 is now OPEN. Thank you to @CAL_FIRE, @TulareSheriff, CHP and many others who have worked tirelessly! #PierFire
— Caltrans District 6 (@CaltransDist6) September 18, 2017
Monteiro reveals that there is still heavy equipment present on the roadways, as crews with both Caltrans and Southern California Edison remain on site. Any residents wanting to know if their power has been restored should call 800-611-1911.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told KMJ News earlier this month that the Pier Fire started when a fiery car was pushed off a cliff (click here to read more).
“We want to give a big thank you to all the agencies that came into Tulare County to protect our residents, protect our community, and property,” adds Monteiro. “We also want to give a thanks to the firefighters as well as those in these communities for their patience as we battle the Pier Fire we began back in August.
“We know its been a long road.”
The latest Pier Fire updates can be found clicking here.
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
