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Friday, March 5, 2021
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Volume 170 • Issue 27
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PPD: Man confesses to setting woman’s tent on fire Dawn Hodson Staff writer Placerville police on Monday arrested a man who reportedly confessed to using a flammable liquid to set fire to a tent a woman was sleeping in at a homeless encampment on Placerville Drive. Jacob Vargas, 25, has been charged with attempted murder and other counts. Police say they were called to the Marshall Hospital emergency room at 4:17
a.m. Jan. 1 regarding a woman who had arrived with severe burns on her body. The female reportedly told officers she was sleeping in a tent under the Placerville Drive extension bridge when she heard a loud explosion and the tent she was in was engulfed by flames. The woman was able to exit the tent and police say she extinguished the fire with assistance from an occupant of a neighboring camp. The woman then
realized she had suffered significant burn injuries and went to Marshall Hospital. A Placerville Police Department press release states the woman suffered second-and third-degree burns over 20% of her body and was transported to the UC Davis Medical Center burn unit. She was released after treatment. An investigation into the incident was initiated by Placerville police and the El Dorado County Fire Protection District. After
following up on several leads, investigators say Vargas became a person of interest. Vargas is reportedly a transient living in the Placerville area. Police did not release a possible motive. In the process of transporting Vargas to the El Dorado County jail he attempted to escape but after a brief chase he was taken back into custody. Vargas is being held with no bail. Charges include attempted murder, mayhem,
Jacob Vargas arson causing great bodily injury and attempted escape from custody.
Mountain Democrat photo by Krysten Kellum
Two farmers markets that in years past have operated in downtown Placerville will relocate to the Regal Cinemas parking lot on Placerville Drive.
Farmers markets to make move to Placerville Drive Andrew Vonderschmitt Staff writer
Photos by Andrew Innerarity/California Department of Water Resources
The overflow parking lot at the Regal Cinemas in Placerville will become the new home for the Placerville El Dorado County Certified Farmers Market beginning Saturday, May 1, and the Hangtown Certified Farmers Market beginning Sundays in mid-June. In recent years the Saturday farmers market that used to occupy the Ivy Lot on Main Street was moved along the El Dorado Trail directly behind the lot and along Hangtown Creek. The move that was applauded by some residents for the relative calm of the trail coupled with the shade opportunities for vendors did not seem to work in the market’s favor. Jim Coalwell, manager of the El Dorado County Certified Farmers Market, said, “Key farmers’ sales have dropped since moving from the Ivy Lot.” He further explained the orientation of the parking lot and trail made the market nearly invisible from the street. Coalwell said visitors would have to park at one end or the other of the trail to access the market and walk the entire distance in order to see everything the market had to offer. Then they would have to turn around and walk that distance again to return to their car. He said the layout did not give visitors the opportunity to loop the entire market and therefore, depending on where they parked, they might miss several vendors and artists. According to Dan Hareland, manager of the Sunday Hangtown Certified Farmers Market, the move to Placerville Drive will enable him to welcome more vendors and more foot traffic. The market has been at the Tetrault Lot near the Placerville Post Office for the last five years and Hareland said when new customers did find the n
See Farmers Markets, page A3
Sean de Guzman, chief of Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Section for the California Department of Water Resources, speaks to the media after the third snow survey of the 2021 season at Phillips Station near Echo Summit Tuesday.
Snowpack below average Dawn Hodson Staff writer Department of Water Resources staff conducted the third manual snow survey of the season Tuesday at Phillips Station near Echo Summit, recording 56 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 21 inches — 86% of average for the location. The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast. Statewide snow survey measurements continue to reflect the overall dry conditions. Measurements from DWR’s electronic snow survey stations indicate that statewide the snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 15 inches, or 61% of the March 2 average, and 54% of the April 1 average. April 1 is typically when California’s snowpack is the deepest and has the highest snow water equivalent. “As California closes out the fifth consecutive dry month of our water year, absent a series of strong storms in March or April we are going to end with a critically dry year on the heels of last year’s dry conditions,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “With back-to-back dry years, water efficiency and drought preparedness are more important than ever for communities, agriculture and the environment.” n
See snow survey, page A5
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Anthony Burdock, a DWR engineer, left, looks on as de Guzman prepares to take a depth measurement.
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