Claremont Fire AM UPDATE 8-27-2020

AUGUST 27, 2020 8 am

Claremont and Bear – Morning Update

Acres: 26,013 combined (Claremont 20,697; Bear 5,176) Contained: Claremont 30%; Bear 0%

Resources: 11 dozers, 74 engines, 7 hand crews, 7 helicopters, 9 water tenders, and 551 total personnel. These resources are shared with the North Complex.

Current Situation on the Claremont: Firefighters made significant progress yet again and containment on the Claremont Fire is up to 30% as crews work to pinch the fire off and steer it into manageable terrain. With protection of local communities one of the top priorities, personnel are working to button up the eastern section of the fire as winds shift today and become more westerly and humidity drops today.

Current Situation on the Bear: The Bear fire remains active. Firefighters are working to build line north of the fire to prevent any push toward Quincy. The fire is actively burning in an area with little to no fire history – north of the Middle Fork of the Feather River, 1 mile northwest of Butte Bar Campground and 1.5 miles southeast of Lookout Rock.

Evacuations: Mandatory Evacuations are in place for the following locations according to the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office: Quincy Laporte Road from Thompson Creek south to Red Bridge (Middle fork of the Feather River.); Highway 70: From Massack to Spring Garden; Spring Garden Community; Greenhorn Ranch Community.

Evacuation Advisories are in effect for the following: Bucks Lake Big Creek Road from the Mount Ararat Road to Bucklin Road (to include Countryman Drive and Grizzly Loop) and Bucks Lake Road south of the Old Transfer Station Rd (Timberline Lodge) extending to the area of the On Top Mine to include the Bucks Highlands area; Quincy Laporte Road from Highway 70 south to Thompson Creek; Quincy Laporte Road from Highway to Massack; East Quincy, south of Lee Road from Radio Hill Road east. (to include East Quincy, south of Highway 70 between Mill Creek (to include mill Creek Road and Forest View Drive) extending east to Quincy Laporte Road; Chandler Road (east end) from Highway 70 east to Carol Lane East; Sloat Community; Cromberg Community.

Plumas County launched a Claremont Fire Evacuation Information website as an online resource to view the fire map, current evacuation zones, sign up for Code Red, follow links to USFS fire incidents pages, and find the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. http://mgo.ms/s/yokm6

The evacuation shelter in Quincy has been closed.

Road Closure: Highway 70 currently is open in both directions with a police escort from Quincy La Porte Road to Spring Garden. Quincy La Porte Road from Highway 70 to Red Bridge and Peppard Flat Road (dirt portion) remain closed. The Pacific Crest Trail from Onion Valley to Bucks Summit remains closed as does Thompson Creek Road (Forest Road 24N26) and Red Bridge Campground. For further information on closures go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices.

For immediate text notifications sign up for the Plumas County’s CodeRed Emergency Alert System on their website at https://www.plumascounty.us/2163/. Visit CalTrans at quickmap.dot.ca.gov or call 1-800-427-7623 for the latest maps and information of road closures in your area.

Weather: Today brings a change in the weather pattern as hotter, drier conditions move in. With lower humidity and increased heat comes the potential for increased fire activity and the likelihood residents and visitors will see larger smoke columns than in recent days. While humidities will dip into the 15-25% range, winds will remain relatively calm and be west in the morning, shifting to northwest later in the day.

Air Quality: Quincy and Susanville can expect continued higher levels of smoke while other areas near the North Complex should see moderate and “unhealthy for sensitive groups” levels of smoke. Widespread haze continues to linger but improved mixing heights should help dissipate some of the smoke. Terrain driven winds are expected to turn westerly in the afternoon and west-northwest in the evening. Smoke is expected to spread around quite a bit.

COVID-19: California Interagency Incident Management Team 1 has implemented precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in both fire camp and the surrounding communities.