EVACUATION AND ROAD CLOSURE INFORMATION

MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDERS have been issued for the following areas:

• QUINCY LAPORTE ROAD from Thompson Creek south to Red Bridge (Middle Fork of the Feather River.

• Highway 70: From Massack Rest Area to Spring Garden

• COMMUNITY OF SPRING GARDEN

• COMMUNITY OF GREENHORN RANCH

EVACUATION ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT for the following areas:

• EAST QUINCY, south of Lee Road from Radio Hill Road east.

o To include EAST QUINCY, south of Highway 70 between Millcreek (to include Mill Creek Road and Forest View Drive) extending east to Quincy LaPorte Road.

• Chandler Road (east e11)d, from Highway 70 east to Carol Lane East.

• COMMUNITY OF SLOAT

• COMMUNITY OF CROMBERG

• 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 BucksHighlands area.

• Quincy LaPorte Road from Highway 70 south to Thompson Creek.

• Quincy LaPorte Road from Quincy LaPorte Road & Highway 70 to Massack.

ROAD CLOSURES AND INFORMATION

• NEW Quincy LaPorte Road fro1n Hwy 70 to Tho1npson Creek is open to RESIDENTS ONLY

• Quincy LaPorte Road fro1n Tho1npson Creek to Red Bridge is CLOSED

• Peppard Flat Road (The dirt portion) is CLOSED

SHELTER INFORMATION

None at this time; however, we are prepared to open one at any time.

If you need assistance with animals, contact Plumas County Animal Services at 283-3673. Large animals/livestock can also be accommodated.

THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME

 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.

AUGUST 26, 2020 8 pm

Claremont and Bear – Evening Update

Acres: 25,324 combined (Claremont 20,423; Bear 4,901) Contained: Claremont 7%; Bear 0%

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

Current Situation on the Claremont: Residents in the La Porte Road area were allowed to return to their homes as the evacuation order for that section reduced from mandatory to an advisory as crews continued to gain ground in terms of building containment line. Highway 70 is open to traffic in both directions with law enforcement escort. Fire activity increased during the afternoon hours with the primary growth in the southwest corner of the fire south of Highway 70 and west of Spring Garden. Firefighters will continue to patrol and mop up and reinforce firelines where applicable overnight.

Current Situation on the Bear: Crews continued to build a defensive line along Slate Creek Spur on the north side of the fire in an effort to catch any threat of it moving north toward Quincy as well as build indirect line on the west side of the fire. The fire remains active and is backing through significant fuels in an area that has little to no fire history. The fire currently is 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: Evacuation Advisory Alerts remain in effect for the communities of Cromberg and Sloat. Residents there should make preparations to evacuate. The mandatory evacuation order was MODIFIED to ADVISORY STATUS Tuesday for East Quincy, south of Highway 70 between Mill Creek (to include Mill Creek Road and Forest View Drive) extending east to Quincy La Porte Road. All other evacuation orders and advisories remain in effect.

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 is currently 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. 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: Overnight, winds will be generally west-southwest at 5-10mph in the lower elevations and southwest at 5-10 gusting to 15 on the upper slopes. Hotter, drier weather is forecast to start Thursday and continuing through the weekend with temperatures increasing by roughly 10 degrees throughout the area. Southeast air flow Friday will bring a slight chance of slow-moving thunderstorms. Otherwise, hot and dry will be the theme this weekend into early next week.

Air Quality: Quincy and Susanville continue to be impacted by Unhealthy to Hazardous levels of smoke. Southwest winds should keep smoke moving to the northeast of the fires. For more information on air quality and to see monitors near you, visit Airnow or the California Smoke Blog. For more information on what you can do to protect yourself and loved ones, visit the EPA's site on fires and your health. Your local health department is also a good source of information.

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.

This is the most current fire, Evacuation and Road Closure information for Plumas County related to the #ClaremontFire and the #BearFire. This post supersedes and/or affirms all earlier posts.The #ClaremontFire made slight progress overnight and fire crews continued to build more dozer line. Significant progress was made to fire line south west of the community of Greenhorn in the area of Squirrel Creek to strengthen its protection. The fire slowly burnt to the north east overnight but made no significant runs or spots. After lengthy discussions with the USFS we are modifying the Quincy LaPorte Road evacuation area to ADVISORY STATUS WITH MODIFICATIONS. RESIDENTS ONLY that reside from Thompson Creek north to Highway 70 will be allowed to return to their homes or access this area. We ask that those residents in this area restrict their travel on LaPorte road to essential travel only and use extreme caution when traveling as there is still increased fire personnel activity on LaPorte road. Reduce travel speeds to insure safe travel. Residents from the intersection of LaPorte road to Massack return to ADVISORY STATUS. Residents in that area may return to their homes. The CHP will be doing increased patrol on Highway 70 and motorists NEED to reduce speed. There will be a reduced speed limit to 35MPH until further notice. *RESIDENTS IN THESE AREAs NEED TO CONSISTANTLY MONITOR LOCAL FIRE INFORMATION AND BE PREPAIRED FOR POSSIBLE CHANGES*The #BearFire has burnt to the west and the north east growing to around 4,800 acres. This morning we issued an evacuation ADVISORY for a portion of the Bucks Lake community: 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. Today’s weather will be like yesterday with mostly clear skies (aside from smoke) and the smoke will continue to blow in a north, north east direction. Today will be the coolest of the five days with temperatures in a slow rise.Remember we have created an interactive Map Link (induvial addresses can be put into this map to see where it falls)http://mgo.ms/s/yokm6

 See Related File below for Smoke Outlook.

Claremont and Bear – Morning Update

Acres: 25,324 combined (Claremont 20,423; Bear 4,901)           Contained: Claremont 7%; Bear 0%

Resources: 14 dozers, 63 engines, 9 handcrews, 7 helicopters, 9 water tenders, and 527 total personnel. These resources are shared with the North Complex.

There will be a virtual community meeting tonight at 5 p.m. Representatives from the Fire Management team will be available to provide updates on the North Complex fires: Sheep, Claremont, & Bear. Join the live Zoom meeting at https://usfs.zoomgov.com/j/1607397992

Current Situation on the Claremont: Crews worked overnight to reinforce gains made throughout the day due to favorable weather conditions and increased crew capacity. Today, crews will continue to work to increase containment by reinforcing dozer line heading around the west and southwest perimeter of the fire. The south side of the fire is moving into an old fire area with less fuel to burn, so is moving slowly. Crews will continue to work on building dozer and hand line in and near Greenhorn and Spring Garden to protect residences in the event of a fire breakover.

Current Situation on the Bear: Crews will continue to strengthen a defensive line along Slate Creek Spur on the north side of the fire in an effort to catch any threat of it moving north towards Quincy. They will also work to keep the fire from moving east where it crossed Little Bear Creek. The fire is currently held north of the Middle Fork of the Feather River. The Bear Fire is located on the Pacific Crest Trail, 1-mile northwest of Butte Bar Campground and 1.5 southeast of Lookout Rock.

Evacuations: Evacuation Advisory Alerts remain in effect for the communities of Cromberg and Sloat. Residents there should make preparations to evacuate. The mandatory evacuation order was MODIFIED to ADVISORY STATUS yesterday for East Quincy, south of Highway 70 between Millcreek (to include Mill Creek Road and Forest View Drive) extending east to Quincy La Porte Road. All other evacuation orders and advisories remain in effect.

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 shelter in Quincy has been closed.

Road Closure: Hwy 70 is currently open with a police escort from Quincy La Porte Road to Spring Garden. Quincy La Porte Road from Hwy 70 to Red Bridge and Peppard Flat Road (dirt portion) remain closed. The Pacific Crest Trail from Onion Valley to Bucks Summit remains closed. 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: It will be mostly sunny today with mild temperatures and modest relative humidities. Winds will be terrain driven until early to mid-afternoon, and then will become generally southwest once again. It's likely to become hotter and drier Thursday into the weekend with temperatures jumping 10 degrees for highs. Dry conditions will lead to bigger diurnal temperature ranges later this week into the weekend. Southeast flow Friday will bring a slight chance of slow moving thunderstorms. Otherwise, hot and dry will be the theme this weekend into early next week.

Air Quality: Quincy and Susanville continue to be impacted by Unhealthy to Hazardous levels of smoke. Southwest winds should keep smoke moving to the northeast of the fires. For more information on air quality and to see monitors near you, visit Airnow or the California Smoke Blog. For more information on what you can do to protect yourself and loved ones, visit the EPA's site on fires and your health. Your local health department is also a great source of information!

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.

The North Complex is inviting you to a scheduled ZoomGov meeting.
Topic: North Complex Virtual Community MeetingTime: Aug 26, 2020 05:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join ZoomGov Meetinghttps://usfs.zoomgov.com/j/1607397992
Meeting ID: 160 739 7992One tap mobile+16692545252,,1607397992# US (San Jose)+16468287666,,1607397992# US (New York)
Dial by your location        +1 669 254 5252 US (San Jose)        +1 646 828 7666 US (New York)Meeting ID: 160 739 7992Find your local number: https://usfs.zoomgov.com/u/acuLVPvhPu
Join by SIP1607397992@sip.zoomgov.com
Join by H.323161.199.138.10 (US West)161.199.136.10 (US East)5261100.140Meeting ID: 160 739 7992

Claremont and Bear – Morning Update

Acres: 21,324 combined (Claremont 17,906; Bear 3,418)

Resources:  14 dozers, 68 engines, 8 hand crews, 7 helicopters, 6 water tenders, and 517 total personnel. These resources are shared with the North Complex.

Current Situation on the Claremont: As the Claremont Fire moved east last night, it spread towards Hwy 70, which triggered a new Evacuation Advisory for the communities of Cromberg and Sloat (about 150 structures threatened). The south side of the fire moving along the Feather River is in very challenging terrain, and is now within ½ mile southwest of Hwy 70. The breakover at Massack Rest Area and Hwy 70 now has good dozer line around the slope. Today, crews will work to reinforce that dozer line as well as a large stretch of completed dozer line on the west side of the fire from Quincy down to Claremont in an effort to keep it from moving north. Expect additional Hwy 70 closures and Union Pacific rail closures today. The Claremont Fire is located south of Quincy, CA and north of the Middle Fork of the Feather River.

Current Situation on the Bear: The Bear Fire continues to move aggressively to the north and west up Bear Creek and along Forest Road 23N19 as it moves around constructed dozer line. There was a spot fire across Little Bear Creek where crews were trying to keep it from moving to the north. The Bear Fire is located on the Pacific Crest Trail, 1-mile northwest of Butte Bar Campground and 1.5 southeast of Lookout Rock.

Weather: Lingering moisture and instability will lead to a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon into early this evening. The greatest threat for showers and thunderstorms over the North Complex will be in the afternoon hours. It is most likely, however, that showers and thunderstorms will remain north and east of the area similar to Monday. It's still possible that winds could affect the area in the afternoon and building smoke columns are likely to lead to some erratic and gusty winds in the heat of the afternoon and evening.

Air Quality: Heaviest impacts will again be in areas closest to the fires. Lingering smoke may be dense at times in the valleys but thinning is expected, especially south of fires. As fires become more active later in the day, areas will see heavier impacts in the evening into overnight as smoke settles into valleys and local drainages. For a fire and smoke map, go to https://fire.airnow.gov/

Evacuations: Evacuation Advisory Alert is in effect for the communities of Cromberg and Sloat. Residents there should make preparations to evacuate. Evacuation orders in East Quincy remain in effect. For the latest evacuation information, visit the Plumas County Sheriff’s Facebook page - facebook.com/plumascountysheriff.

Quincy High School remains an Evacuation Center for local residences. No small animals are able to be accommodated at the high school. Portola Station Baptist Church (171 S Guiling St.) is serving as an evacuation center for residents of Greenhorn and Spring Garden.

Road Closure: Highway 70 remained CLOSED between Spring Garden and La Porte Road, but escorted groups were allowed through by the California Highway Patrol as conditions allow. La Porte Road and Thompson Creek Road remain closed. Union Pacific Railroad also has a closure affected by the fire. The Pacific Crest Trail from Onion Valley to Bucks Summit remains closed. 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/. Evacuation questions should be directed to your County Sheriff's office non-emergency number. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office: (530) 283-6375.

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.

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.

Smoke Outlook 8-25-2020

Claremont and Bear – Evening Update

Acres: 20,684  

Resources:  14 dozers, 68 engines, 8 hand crews, 7 helicopters, 6 water tenders, and 517 total personnel. These resources are shared with the North Complex.

Current Situation on the Claremont: Tempered weather today allowed crews to go on the offensive and attack the fire and build line in place of constant structure protection as in previous days. The fire does remain active near Hwy 70 as well as south of the Feather River. The spots that crossed over Hwy 70 had a hand crew working to build line. Crews will continue to defend lines near structures overnight to further stabilize the area. Union Pacific (UP) moved a Fire Train into the area to assist with fire suppression along the railroad tracks adjacent to Hwy 70. The UP locomotive has a water tank car attached with a pump on top that supplies hoses, nozzles, and deck guns to help extinguish fires and hot spots on or along the railroad tracks.

The California Highway Patrol escorted groups of cars today on SR-70 through the burned over area. The area is still considered a closed zone and should be avoided if possible. The highway can close again at anytime in the event the area is not safe to travel.

The Claremont Fire, now at 17,906 acres, is located south of Quincy, CA and north of the Middle Fork of the Feather River.

Current Situation on the Bear: The Bear Fire remains active in all directions. Additional crews were added to support containment. The Bear Fire, now at 2,778 acres is located on the Pacific Crest Trail, 1-mile northwest of Butte Bar Campground and 1.5 southeast of Lookout Rock.

Weather: RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE FOOTHILLS AND MOUNTAINS THROUGH THIS EVENING. A threat of isolated dry thunderstorms remains possible in the foothills and mountains through this evening. Lightning from dry thunderstorms will have the potential to start new fires. Dry thunderstorms may also produce gusty wind.

Air Quality: Hazy smoke continued today and was most dense in the valleys. Light winds pushed smoke to the north/northeast and areas nearest the fires saw the greatest impacts, namely Susanville and Quincy. Those areas can expect to see unhealthy/very unhealthy conditions overall. Locations near Reno should have seen some relief today as scattered showers continued to pass through. Smoke was expected to thin/mix out around noon into the early evening. For a fire and smoke map, go to https://fire.airnow.gov/

Evacuations: Evacuation Advisory Alert is in effect for the communities of Cromberg and Sloat. Residents there should make preparations to evacuate. Due to the continued weather threat into tonight, evacuation orders in East Quincy remain. For the latest evacuation information, visit the Plumas County Sheriff’s Facebook page - facebook.com/plumascountysheriff.

Quincy High School remains an Evacuation Center for local residences. No small animals are able to be accommodated at the high school. Portola Station Baptist Church (171 S Guiling St.) is serving as an evacuation center for residents of Greenhorn and Spring Garden.

Road Closure: Highway 70 remained CLOSED between Spring Garden and La Porte Road, but escorted groups were allowed through by the California Highway Patrol as conditions allowed. La Porte Road and Thompson Creek Road remain closed. Union Pacific Railroad also has a closure affected by the fire. The Pacific Crest Trail from Onion Valley to Bucks Summit remains closed. 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/. Evacuation questions should be directed to your County Sheriff's office non-emergency number. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office: (530) 283-6375.

Visit CalTrans at quickmap.dot.ca.gov for the latest maps with road closures in your area.

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.