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Bear Fire, Tahoe National Forest

Unit Information

631 Coyote Street 
Nevada City, 
95959 
631 Coyote Street 
Nevada City, 
95959 

Incident Contacts

Email: 2024.bear.ca@firenet.gov
Phone: (530) 559-9010

This incident is no longer being updated.

Highlighted Media

Photo of forest with a structure that is wrapped for a fire. There is a firefighter with a hose spraying the structure.

The Bear Fire was reported at 2 p.m. on September 2, 2024, off Bear Valley Road on the Tahoe National Forest, south of the community of Sierra Brooks in Sierra County. 

Updates

As of September 11, 2024, the Bear Fire is being managed by Tahoe National Forest.

The cause of the fire is undetermined and under investigation. 

Closures:

Tahoe National Forest closure info: Forest Order No. 17-24-20 and Forest Order Map


 

Basic Information
Current as of Mon, 09/30/2024 - 11:51
Incident Time Zone America/Los_Angeles
Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Undetermined
Date of Origin
Location Sierra Brooks, Loyalton
Incident Commander Zac Stockdale ICT3 USFS
Dan Patterson ICT3(T) USFS
Andy Achter ICT3 (T) USFS
Incident Description Wildfire
Coordinates 39° 35' 85'' Latitude
-120° 12'
97
'' Longitude
Current Situation
Total Personnel: 207
Size 3,323 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained 100%
Fuels Involved

Brush (2 feet)
Timber (Grass and Understory)


Narrative:
The fuels that burned were primarily Ponderosa pine and 2 to 6 foot tall manzanita stands on the west side of the fire area and shrub communities on the eastern portion. Shrub fuels included bitterbrush and mountain sagebrush.

Significant Events

Minimal
Smoldering

Outlook
Planned Actions

Full suppression. Objectives: Keep fire in current footprint, south of Sierra Brooks, East of Antelope Valley, West of Bald Mountain Range, and North of Lewis Mill Fire Station. Implement suppression repair of roads, contingency lines, and limited direct fire lines-Phase 1. Mitigation of hazard trees.

Projected Incident Activity

12 hours: Minimal fire activity expected. Wet weather could impact travel on roads. 

24 hours: Reduced fire activity. Predicted gusty and erratic winds are expected near thunderstorms. Crews are working with Resource Advisors on suppression repair. 

48 hours: Sunny and warmer with temps into the into the low 70s may dry out fine fuels. Minimal fire activity expected. Crews working with Resource Advisors on suppression repair. 

72 hours: Little or no fire activity expected. Crews continue to work with Resource Advisors on suppression repair. 

Anticipated after 72 hours:Little or no fire activity expected. Crews continue to work with READs on rehab. Tentative transition to Type 4 incident on 9/20.

 

 

 

Current Weather
Weather Concerns

Patchy morning fog will burn off by mid to late Friday morning with drier conditions prevailing with decent overnight RH recoveries into the weekend. Drier and slowly warmer conditions will continue through the weekend with no significant wind except for typical afternoon breezes starting early next week. 

Friday: Temps 46-49 in morning rising to 72-75. Night RH 60-65% dropping to minimum of 22-24%. 20 ft winds SE 2 mph, diurnal upslope 3-7 mph. Friday night: Clear, temps 44-47, maximum RH 53-59%, downslope winds 2-6 mph. Saturday: Clear, sunny, max temps 72-75, minimum RH 21-25%, 20 foot winds upslope 3-7 mph.