Updated at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014
APPLEGATE - Firefighters gained the upper hand overnight on the Applegate Fire burning along Interstate 80, east of Sacramento.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported Saturday night that firefighters have contained 67 percent of the blaze that consumed 459 acres in the communities of Applegate and Wiemar.
"Low intensity interior burning took place overnight. Fire crews continue building containment lines and improving existing lines," Cal Fire reported on its incident page.
Cal Fire reported that five homes and multiple utility buildings have been destroyed. One injury has also been reported, but no details were provided.
The fire began around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday between Auburn and Colfax and briefly closed I-80. Investigators said the fire started as five to seven vegetation fires along a mile-long stretch of the highway. The cause is still under investigation.
About 1,000 homes were threatened by the wildfire. However, by Saturday night Cal Fire said at least 400 homes are threatened.
Progress against the fire allowed officials to reduce mandatory evacuations to warnings for: All areas and roads east of the railroad tracks between Applegate Road and Paoli Lane within the burn area southeast to the American River.
The following areas under an Evacuation Warning were lifted at noon Sunday: All areas and roads north of the burn area and including Sun Valley Road, Kelly Mountain Road and Bridger Trail, and east towards the American River.
By Saturday many of the evacuees were able to return to their homes, but Rosalie Wright knows not everyone was as lucky as she is.
"I feel horrible for the people that did lose their homes because I really did dodge a bullet," Wright said.
Flames crept right up to the front gate of Wright's home on Paoli Lane, and somehow firefighters were able to stop them there. Days later the shock of it all remains.
"It's just so nerve wracking, you know. I mean it still is," Wright said.
Most of the homes destroyed were along Sun Valley Road, which remained closed as crews cleared hazardous trees and began restoring power lines. Which homes survived and which homes were destroyed seemed random at first glance, but topography played a major role in directing the fire, Cal Fire said.
"They're right on the ridge though, the ones that burned, and that's the worst place to be," evacuee Mark Wright said. "We 're lucky. We're down the hill a little bit, so actually it's harder for the fire to come down a hill to us."
The following areas remain under mandatory evacuations: All areas and roads from Interstate 80 at Applegate Road south to Hidden Meadow Way, extending east to the American River, south of the burn area.
More than 1,300 fire personnel are battling the wildfire. Mop-up work will continue within the fire perimeter over the next several days, Cal Fire said.
All road closures in and around the Applegate Fire have been lifted.
