13 hikers who disappeared where Royal Fire burned, found

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Royal Fire: Officers Find 13 Hikers Who Went Missing as Placer County Wildfire Raged

FROM THAT SCENE. YEAH. THIS IS NOW CONSIDERED AN INCIDENT WITHIN AN INCIDENT WITH THOSE 13 MISSING HIKES BETWEEN THE AGE OF 16 AND 20. I WANT TO BRING IN LIEUTENANT TY CONNORS FROM THE PLACER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE TO TELL US MORE ABOUT THE SEARCH AND RESCUE POLICY THIS MORNING. WHAT’S GOING ON? YEAH. WHEN WE GOT THE CALL THAT THERE WERE FOUR VEHICLES FOUND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FIRE, UH, WE, YOU KNOW, CONTACTED THE VEHICLE OWNERS AND WE WERE ABLE TO FIND OUT HOW MANY CHILDREN OR YOUNG ADULTS. AND ONCE WE HAD NO COMMUNICATION WITH THEM AT ALL. WE WENT AHEAD AND STARTED SEARCHING YESTERDAY NIGHT WITH THE PLANE WHICH HAS A LITTLE, UH, NIGHT VISION AND TRIED IT, BUT WITH ALL THE GRANITE KEEPING THE HEAT IN, THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY HEAT SIGNATURES. SO WHAT WE’RE DOING TODAY IS A SEARCH AND RESCUE, PLACER COUNTY SEARCH AND RESCUE IS GOING TO THE HEAD OF THE TRAIL AND TRYING TO SEE IF THEY CAN INTERCEPTION THE HIKERS AT THIS TIME. AND YOU SAID THAT THIS IS A RARE HAPPENING WHEN YOU HAVE AN INCIDENT LIKE A FIRE, AND THEN YOU ADD A SEARCH AND RESCUE TO THAT. HOW DO THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT ARE NEEDED FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS COORDINATE AND PLAN TO TRY TO ACCOMPLISH BOTH JOBS? THAT’S THE BIG PART OF BEING UNDER UNIFIED COMMAND RIGHT NOW. WE ARE UNDER UNIFIED COMMAND WITH TODD NATIONAL FOREST, CAL FIRE, AND AGAIN WITH THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE, THAT COMMUNICATION IS VITAL FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR SEARCHES DO NOT INTERFERE WITH ANY TYPE OF FIRE TRAFFIC OR THE AIRCRAFT THAT IS FLYING OVER. SO WE ARE AGAIN, IT IS A VERY BIG COORDINATED EFFORT. BUT AGAIN, WE BOTH HAVE HIGH PRIORITIES. OBVIOUSLY CONTROLLING THE FIRE, BUT ALSO FINDING THE HIKES. OKAY. AND FINALLY, WE WENT TO THE MAP HERE. AND YOU’RE GOING TO SHOW US A LITTLE BIT OF WHERE THIS IS ALL GOING ON. WHERE WERE THE HIKERS’ VEHICLES FOUND AND WHERE ARE YOUR EFFORTS FOCUSED AT THIS POINT? HERE ON THE PALISADES CREEK TRAIL. THIS IS THE GENERAL AREA WHERE THE FOUR VEHICLES WERE FOUND. WE UNDERSTAND THEY WENT CAMPING, THIS WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FIRE, UH, YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT THE PRIMARY, UH, THE BEGINNING POINT OF THE TRAIL HAS BURNED DOWN. SO WE’RE HOPEING THEY GET OUT. PALISADES CREEK TRAIL TO CASCADE LAKES IS WHERE THE TRAIL ENDS. AND SO WE HAVE UNITS IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE OF THAT. BUT WE’VE NOW BROUGHT IN A SEARCH AND RESCUE PARTY TO COME DOWN. THAT TRAIL TO SEE IF THEY CAN INTERCEPTION. AND WE ALSO HAVE A CHP HELICOPTER AND FALCON 30, THE SHERIFF’S HELICOPTER, FLYING OVER THERE TO SEE IF THEY CAN FIND THEM. WELL, WE’LL GET YOU BACK OUT THERE. WE KNOW IT’S GOING TO BE A BUSY DAY FOR YOU AND YOUR CREW. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME, LIEUTENANT CONNORS. SO RIGHT NOW, THE ROYAL FIRE HAS FIVE HOMES UNDER EVACUATION ALERT. THAT’S JUST ANOTHER PART OF WHAT THE PLACER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE IS DEALING WITH. IN ADDITION TO ALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WORKING TO BLOCK THE FLAMES, THEY ARE DOING LIVE REPORTING IN PLACER COUNTY. MELANIE WINGO KCRA THREE NEWS.

Royal Fire: Officers Find 13 Hikers Who Went Missing as Placer County Wildfire Raged

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.

PLACER COUNTY, California —

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

Below you will find important websites that are important to all California residents during the wildfire season.

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