Royal Fire: Officers Find 13 Hikers Who Went Missing as Placer County Wildfire Raged
Updated: 07:39 AM PDT Jul 8, 2024
TOMORROW. YES. THIS IS A CHANGING SITUATION. AND JUST IN THE LAST TEN MINUTES WE’VE BEEN AWARE THAT THOSE HIKERS HAVE BEEN TICKED BY THE PLACER COUNTY SHERIFF’S HELICOPTER. THOSE HIKERS HAVE NOT YET BEEN CALLED OUT OF THE TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST WILDERNESS. HOWEVER, THAT’S A JOB THAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. UH, IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, THE PLACER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE WILL BE SENDIN’ ITS SEARCH AND RESCUE OFFICE, AND THEY’LL BE GOING TO TAKE THOSE MISSING HIKERS UP THE PALISADES CREEK TRAIL TO CASCADE LAKES. NOW, THESE HIKES THAT WERE A BIT OF A BACKWARD, WERE REPORTED MISSING YESTERDAY. WE JUST HEARD THIS MORNING THAT THEY WERE MISSING. THEY ARE IN THE ROYAL FIRE. FIRE ZONE AND YESTERDAY NIGHT THEIR VEHICLES WERE NEAR ONE OF THE TRAILHEADS. THEN THEIR FAMILY WAS NOTIFIED AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THEY WERE MISSING. DISAPPEARED OVERNIGHT. BUT JUST THIS MORNING, IN THE LAST TEN MINUTES OR SO, WE HEARD THAT THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS BEEN MONITORING THE MISSING HIKES FROM ABOVE AND THAT THEY WERE GOING TO GET THEIR SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM MEMBERS OUT TO HELP WITH THE HIKES. NOW, THIS MORNING WE ARE TALKING TO THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO MANAGE AN INCIDENT WITHIN AN INCIDENT WHEN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AN INCIDENT WITHIN AN INCIDENT. I MEAN, IT CLEARLY ADDS A LOT MORE SAFETY BECAUSE WE HAVE HELICOPTERS ON THE HELICOPTERS LOOKING FOR THE HIKERS AND PLANES FIGHTING FIRE, YOU KNOW, FIREFIGHTING. Um, SO IT’S, AGAIN, THAT’S WHAT WE ARE NOW IN UNIFIED COMMAND WITH TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST AND CAL FIRE AND WITH THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE AND UNIFIED COMMAND. MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE GOOD COMMUNICATION THAT WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, EXPLAIN OUR SEARCHES THAT WILL NOT HINDER ANY OF THE FIRE FIGHTING CAPABILITIES. AGAIN, THIS WAS A GROUP OF 12 TO 13 HIKERS, AND THEY ARE ALL BETWEEN THE AGE OF 16 AND 20 AT THIS TIME. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE THINKS THAT EVERYONE WAS FOUND, ALTHOUGH IT’S NOT KNOWN IF ANYONE WAS INJURED. AFTER THEIR NIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS. WE EXPECT TO HAVE THOSE DETAILS SOON, BUT AS YOU HAVE HEARD, THIS WAS A COMPLICATED SITUATION WITH A SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSION GOING ON AT A FIRE THAT IS OF INTEREST TO THE FIRE FIGHTERS BEING FIGHTED. HOWEVER, THAT SEARCH IS NOW OVER FOR THE MISSING HIKERS. THE PROCESS IS NOW BEGINNING TO FIND THOSE HIKERS. WE WILL BE FOLLOWING IT FOR YOU. WE PLAN TO GO TO THE TRAILHEAD WHERE THEY ARE COMING. WE WILL HAVE AN UPDATE ON HOW THEY ARE DOING AS SOON AS WE CAN
Royal Fire: Officers Find 13 Hikers Who Went Missing as Placer County Wildfire Raged
Updated: 07:39 AM PDT Jul 8, 2024
A group of young hikers who went missing in the area of a wildfire in Placer County have been found, officials said Monday. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said the 13 hikers, who ranged in age from 16 to 20, were all found after a helicopter spotted them. It’s unknown if anyone was injured. The sheriff’s office said a search and rescue team will come and hike with them to the end of a trail near Cacade Lakes. Ty Conners with the sheriff’s office said deputies found four vehicles belonging to the hikers in the Royal Fire Zone on Sunday. Conners said they contacted the owners of the vehicles to determine how many people were in the vehicles. When they were unable to locate the group of hikers, officials attempted a search Sunday night using aircraft equipped with both night vision and thermal vision. Conners said the four vehicles were found near the Palisades Creek trailhead, which is on the southern edge of the fire zone. The sheriff’s office said the hikers had planned to camp on the other side of the fire zone, but the trailhead was engulfed in flames. The northern trail ends at Cascade Lakes, so Conners said deputies hoped to intercept the group as they headed south from the lakes. The Royal Fire started Sunday in the Tahoe National Forest west of Soda Springs, near Soda Springs Road. Five homes are under evacuation warnings, meaning residents are not required to leave but are advised to do so in case fire conditions become dangerous. Smoke from the fire was visible from Interstate 80 when it first started. As of Monday, the smoke is not as visible, with mostly haze. As of Sunday, the fire has burned 169 acres and is not contained. Containment is not used to measure how much of a fire is out, but it is used to determine how much of a perimeter has been set up around the fire area to prevent the flames from spreading. The Tahoe National Forest said the cause of the fire is under investigation. | MORE | A 2024 Guide to Preparing for California WildfiresHere are key websites that all California residents should know about during wildfire season.Cal Fire wildfire incidents: Cal Fire tracks its wildfire incidents here. You can sign up to receive text messages from Cal Fire about wildfires burning near your zip code here.Wildfires on federal lands: Federal wildfire incidents are tracked here.Preparing for power outages: Ready.gov explains how to prepare for a power outage and what to do if you’re returning from a power outage here. Here’s how to track and report PG&E power outages.Staying informed when you lose power and cell service: How to find a National Weather Service radio station near you.Be prepared for road closures: Download Caltrans’ QuickMap app or check the latest road conditions from QuickMap here.
A group of young hikers who went missing in the area where a wildfire is raging in Placer County have been found, officials said Monday.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said the 13 hikers, aged between 16 and 20, were all found after a helicopter spotted them. It’s unknown if any injuries were reported.
According to the sheriff’s office, a search and rescue team will arrive on scene and walk with them to the end of a trail near Cacade Lakes.
Ty Conners with the sheriff’s office said deputies found four of the hikers’ vehicles in the Royal Fire area on Sunday.
Conners said they contacted the owners of the vehicles to ask how many people were in the vehicles.
After failing to capture the group of hikers, authorities attempted a search Sunday night using aircraft equipped with both night-vision and thermal imaging cameras.
Conners said the four vehicles were found at the Palisades Creek trailhead, which is on the southern edge of the burned area. The sheriff’s office said the hikers had planned to camp on the other side of the burned area, but the trailhead was engulfed in flames.
The northern trail ends at Cascade Lakes. According to Conners, the officers hoped to stop the group as they headed south from the lakes.
The Royal Fire started Sunday in the Tahoe National Forest west of Soda Springs, near Soda Springs Road. Five homes are under evacuation warnings, meaning residents are not required to leave but are advised to do so in case fire conditions become dangerous.
Smoke from the fire was visible from Interstate 80 when it started. As of Monday, the smoke is not as visible, with mostly haze.
As of Sunday, the fire has burned 169 acres and is not contained. Containment is not used to measure how much of the fire has been extinguished, but to determine how much of a perimeter has been established around the fire area to prevent flames from spreading.
The Tahoe National Forest reports the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
| MORE | A 2024 Guide to How to Prepare for California Wildfires