"Today’s emergency declaration allows us to quickly move forward with our efforts to serve customers and surrounding communities"

AUBURN, CA (MPG) - Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) General Manager Andy Fecko released the following statement today regarding the River Fire: 

 On behalf of the PCWA Board of Directors and all Agency employees, we send our heartfelt condolences to all those affected by the River Fire. The city of Colfax is home to over 1,000 PCWA customers, including several past and current employees. I also want to thank all the first responders who heroically responded to the River Fire. Safety of our staff and customers remains our highest priority. As the primary water provider for the area, PCWA has been closely following impact of the fire on Agency infrastructure and providing needed water supply for firefighting efforts. To assist those efforts, PCWA requests customers in the greater Colfax area to immediately discontinue any non-essential water use. If customers evacuate, please shut off the main water valve to your home.

In a related action, the PCWA Board of Directors passed an emergency resolution in response to the River Fire. The resolution authorizes the Agency to bypass normal bidding requirements when entering contracts necessary to protect, access, inspect, repair, restore and/or replace damaged Agency property, facilities, and water supplies.

 Fecko said, “The River Fire serves as another reminder of the importance of a reliable water system along the I-80 corridor and the need for active forest management. We have seen from previous fires in our watershed that the clean up afterwards can often take several months or years of work to address the impacts to our rivers, pipelines, and other facilities. Today’s emergency declaration allows us to quickly move forward with our efforts to serve customers and surrounding communities that depend on us for clean and reliable water.”

 About PCWA

PCWA is the primary water resource agency for Placer County, California, with a broad range of responsibilities including water resource planning and management, retail and wholesale supply of drinking water and irrigation water, and production of hydroelectric energy.