Tuolumne County – Yesterday, July 15th, 2020, at approximately 3:39 p.m Tuolumne County Fire Department (TCFD) and several assisting agencies responded to the Monte Fire, a structure fire at 19000 Block of Soulsbyville Rd. Soulsbyville, CA. The fully involved building was a “commercial” type shop on residential property and approximately 3000 square feet in size.

Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to the vegetation and achieved complete knockdown of the fire at 6:20 p.m. Firefighters and equipment remained at the property overnight and will continue to be at scene throughout the day. Investigators are continuing the investigation today, including interviewing the property owner.

TCFD is cooperating with several county agencies to coordinate clean-up efforts including Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Service, Tuolumne County Environmental Health, Tuolumne County Planning Department, and Tuolumne County Administrators Office.

TCFD has requested a Hazardous Materials team from California Office of Emergency Services (CALOES) to assist in the identification and mitigation of materials within the fire area. HAZMAT 4 from Modesto is responding to assist. Although this property is listed as residential, the unknown hazardous items are of “commercial” scale, adding to the complexity of the incident. Contents of concern include:

All counts are approximate
• 20 – vehicles including heavy equipment (tractors, backhoes etc.)
• 30 – 55 gallon drums with unknown contents
• 25 – Five gallon pails with unknown contents
• Several commercial sized compressed gas cylinders with unknown contents

TCFD continues to work on identifying risks and mitigating any concerns. This includes impacts to the nearby Curtis Creek. Impacted stakeholders are being notified as they are identified.

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