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Photo courtesy of Cal Fire
A smoke plume rises from the Uphill Fire Monday afternoon. The blaze scorched about 22 acres.
Mower blamed for Uphill Fire Shelly Thorene Staff writer
Mountain Democrat photos by Shelly Thorene
Local breweries rolled out the barrels for this year’s Oktoberfest celebration in downtown Placerville on Sept. 20. Above Burning Barrel’s Duncan Alexander of Placerville, right, fills the first two mugs with beer after tapping the keg for Tim Daniel of Pollock Pines, left, and David Coody, owner of Jack Russell Brewery in Camino, center, at the Main Street event. Oktoberfest featured beer, wine, food, live music kids games, a costume contest and the ever-popular Dachshund Dash. At left, Amy Sargent of Placerville sits at a table outside at Placerville Public House with her 2-year-old Dachshund, Daisy, who she said would be competing for the first time in the Dachshund races later in the day. See more photos on A5.
Fire crews on the ground and in the air responded to a vegetation fire near the 5400 block of Uphill Road in Pilot Hill Monday afternoon. The Uphill Fire was caused by mowing, according to Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit public information officer Wendy Oaks. The call came in at 12:57 p.m. on Sept. 22 and forward progress was stopped at approximately 22 acres around 2:30 p.m. the same day. Cal Fire advises property owners to take caution when mowing. “When mowing, choose the cooler ■ See FIRE, page A5
Crackdown nets arrests, guns News release
Photo courtesy of EDSO
Operation Folsom Blues 3.0 took guns and drugs off El Dorado County’s streets.
Over two consecutive nights, Sept. 18-19, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff ’s Office participated in Operation Folsom Blues 3.0, a coordinated narcotics-enforcement surge on the west slope and in the South Lake Tahoe Basin. Teams served pre-planned search warrants, conducted targeted probation compliance checks, and carried out directed interdiction in identified hot spots. The preliminary two-night results are: • 26 arrests • 10 firearms seized
• Methamphetamine: 157.2 g (approx.) • Fentanyl: 11.5 g (approx.) • Cocaine: 14.3 g (approx.) The goal of the operation was to disrupt narcotics distribution, recover crime guns and reduce overdose and violence risk through coordinated warrants, targeted compliance checks, and interdiction guided by shared real-time intelligence. Both the sheriff and the district attorney view this operation as a success and they emphasized that the results send a direct warning to drug traffickers: ■ See CRACKDOWN, page A5
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Cash in on clean air incentives for electric vehicles Shelly Thorene Staff writer
Time is running out for car buyers wanting to take advantage of the $7,500 federal tax incentive for purchasing or leasing a new electric vehicle or the $4,000 incentive for Mountain Democrat photo by Shelly Thorene
The El Dorado County Air Quality Management District was awarded grants to fund Level 2 EV chargers at the county government centers in Placerville and South Lake Tahoe.
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purchase of a used EV. The deadline for these tax incentives is Sept. 30. The savings add up when combined with other incentives offered by El Dorado County Air Quality Management District. According to the IRS website, to qualify for the $7,500 tax incentive, the vehicle has to be a new qualified plug-in EV or fuel cell electric vehicle and it must undergo final assembly in North America. That information can be found by entering the vehicle’s ■ See EVS, page A5
5.000%3.61 5.30% YEAR3.250 1515YEAR 3.250 3.61
HOME LOAN HOME LOAN
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Annual Percentage Annual Percentage Rate Rate
• ReÀ• nance Purchase ReÀnance PLACERVILLE Purchase PLACERVILLE 4040 ElRoad Dorado• 622-1492 Road • 622-1492 • 4040 El •Dorado
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PINESPony• 6462 PonyTrai Express Trail • 644-2363 POLLOCKPOLLOCK PINES • 6462 Express l • 644-2363 EL DORADO HILLSPark• 3963 Drive • 933-3002 EL DORADO HILLS • 3963 DrivePark• 933-3002 GEORGETOWN 193 • 333-1101 • 6310 Hwy.• 6310 193 Hwy. • 333-1101 Serving local over 54 years GEORGETOWN Member Member Serving our local our communities forEspanol over 54foryears Se communities Habla
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NMLSR ID 479256