Amador County – A fire broke out Friday afternoon on the steep slope adjacent to Highway 88 East of Previtali. A combination of fire teams from Amador Fire Protection District Battalion 10, CALFIRE and the City of Jackson were on scene. Additional units from Sutter Creek were spotted heading to the fire but turned around after reports that the fire had been contained. According to CALFIRE’s captain on-scene, the blaze burned about ¼ acre of dry grass along the slope and into trees before being effectively contained. Earlier reports over the radio indicated that at full blaze the fire “let off quite a bit of smoke and heat.” Reports also stated that the fire damaged all or part of a PG & E utility pole. The geography of the canyon presented a unique challenge to fire crews. Traffic was delayed up to 15 minutes in either direction as fire crews in full gear carefully scaled the slope with shovels and fire hoses. Sheriff’s officers poked prodded still smoldering piles of ash in hopes of finding the source of the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. One officer on scene suspected a cigarette butt or spark from a passing vehicle as the cause, but that is unconfirmed. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.