A deceased person was found near the four-mile marker on Bonetti Road near Pollock Pines around 7:06 a.m. Thursday, as a small fire also burned nearby in the same stretch of the Caldor Fire burn scar. Law enforcement and fire personnel rushed to the scene, cordoned off the area and put out the blaze, but the causes of both the death and the fire remain unresolved.
Workers Discover Body And Flames Together
According to Mountain Democrat, workers in the Caldor Fire burn scar reported finding both the deceased person and the fire near the four-mile marker on Bonetti Road. By the time crews arrived, the area was still smoldering. Law enforcement and fire personnel responded to the scene off Mormon Immigrant Trail, where an El Dorado County Sheriff's deputy and a Cal Fire firefighter helped cordon off the area while the small blaze was extinguished.
The outlet's reporting notes that the cause of the person's death is under investigation, as is the cause of the fire. No further details about the identity of the deceased or the circumstances of the fire have been released. The publication said it would share more information as it becomes available.
A Burn Scar With A History Of Flare-Ups
This is not the first time flames have surfaced along that same stretch of road. The same outlet's report notes that firefighters were previously called to the Bonetti Road area south of Mormon Emigrant Trail in Pollock Pines, where flames took to downed timber and brush inside the Caldor Fire burn scar. That earlier fire burned about three-quarters of an acre, and its cause was also left under investigation, per the same account.
In that prior incident, an Overland Way resident spotted the smoke and alerted authorities, the report states. Crews got an assist from an air tactical OV-10 Bronco that happened to be nearby, helping firefighters locate the blaze burning in what was described as “extremely steep terrain,” while a Cal Fire Fire Hawk helicopter made water drops to help knock it down.
Hazard-Tree Removal After The Caldor Fire
Hazard-tree removal is among the efforts tied to the Caldor Fire's aftermath.
A related project record filed with California Environmental Quality Act Net describes work focused predominately on a priority segment of Bonetti Road, along with a small portion of corridor near Capps Reservoir Road, serving the communities of Grizzly Flat, Pollock Pines and Kyburz.
What Comes Next
Under county policy, the El Dorado County Coroner's Office investigates the circumstances surrounding suspicious or unexpected deaths, a category that includes homicides, suicides, accidental deaths, unattended deaths and unexplained deaths. It remains unknown whether the death found Thursday falls into any of those categories, and nothing in available reporting indicates whether the fire and the death are connected. Mountain Democrat said it would share more information on the case as it becomes available.
