Incident Start Date: 8/17/2020                      Size: 318,929 acres      Containment: 88%    

Engines: 60     Handcrews: 26     Dozers: 38    Helicopters: 13    Water Tenders: 62   Total Personnel: 1,323

Fatalities: 15   Structures Damaged/Destroyed: 2,471

Current Situation

Today, firefighters concentrated resources at the penstocks near State Route 70. Spotting potential is minimized and the line continues to hold because of heavy mop up activity and clean burning of surface fuels. 

Utilizing former dozer and hand lines from the 2016 Tobin Fire, crews worked contingency lines along the north and northwest side of State Route 70 to serve as a catcher’s mitt if spotting occurs. Crews also focused efforts on contingency lines from Mill Creek towards the Pacific Crest Trail as well as the Bald Eagle Ridge system. They have also been working an emergency line by Silver Lake. Crews have worked diligently to mop up heat signatures within the McGee Ridge spot fire. The rest of the fire remains within current containment lines and east of Highway 70.

Gusty south to southwest winds up to 22 mph will become common over the next few days ahead of a strong Pacific storm system that will be moving across Northern California on Saturday.  These winds will test the fire lines. 

Highway 70 still remains open to one-way traffic control with a pilot car between Rock Crest and Rock Creek, with potential plans of opening up both lanes in the next few days if fire remains in current footprint. Refer to the Cal Trans website for status changes.

PG&E has restored power this afternoon to the Bucks Lake and Haskins areas. Check the PG&E website for latest conditions.

To view today's virtual community meeting, visit the National Forest Facebook page.  www.facebook.com/USFSPlumas

There will be one operational briefing video posted daily to the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page.  Team Planning meetings (daily at 7 p.m.) and Cooperator Meetings (Mon-Wed-Fri at 10 a.m.) will be available to watch via Zoom (https://usfs.zoomgov.com/j/1602646317). Evacuations and Road Closures Butte County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all evacuation orders, warnings and road closures though Highway 70 north of Pulga is under traffic control only using one lane. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office has evacuation orders and warnings issued covering the Highway 70 corridor and surrounding area. Please check their websites and Facebook pages for the latest updates. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.

Fire The North Complex is 318,928 acres, and is 87% contained. The fire remained within containment lines and east of Highway 70. Firefighters will continue to mop up and patrol, increasing the depth of the containment lines.

Smoke Sierra mountain communities are still seeing haze, but also some periods of green/good air quality. Smoke remains trapped in valleys both east and west of the Sierra. In those valleys air quality will continue to be moderate for a few days, but should clean out with the cold front forecast for this weekend.

Health and Safety Use common sense to guide your activities. Even if you don’t have a monitor in your area, if it looks or smells smoky outside, it's probably not a good time to mow the lawn or go for a run. And it's probably not a good time for children - especially children with asthma - to be vigorously active outdoors, or active outdoors for prolonged periods of time. If you are active outdoors, pay attention to symptoms. Symptoms are an indication that you need to reduce exposure.

Smoke and Covid  - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Lfc1I_PMZFAWZack2cqtUlBmBXLpve0Q/view

Incident Start Date: 8/17/2020                      Size: 318,928 acres      Containment: 87%    

Engines: 59       Handcrews: 26     Dozers: 35    Helicopters: 13    Water Tenders: 39    Total Personnel: 1,286

Fatalities: 15   Structures Damaged/Destroyed: 2,471

Current Situation

Last night, and continuing through the next few days, firefighters will mop up and patrol, increasing the depth of the containment lines, looking for any existing heat sources and extinguishing them as they are found. The fire remains within containment lines and east of Highway 70.

Today, an expected cold front will bring increased winds from the southwest that will test containment lines. There is a threat of roll out of branches and logs that could cause fire to cross containment lines in the penstock area. Crews will focus on contingency lines in the area around Bald Eagle Mountain and Mill Creek off of Bucks Lake.  

PG&E has shut off power to the Bucks Lake and Haskins areas, due to aircraft working adjacent to distribution lines. The power shut off is expected to last through tonight (Wednesday, October 7th). However, this time frame is subject to change. Per the Plumas County Sheriff's Office, these areas remain under a Mandatory Evacuation. Check the PG&E website for latest conditions.

State Route 70 is now open to one-way traffic control with a pilot car between Rock Crest and Rock Creek. However, the road can return to a full closure at any time due to fire activity. Refer to the CalTrans website for the latest status.

Butte County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all evacuation orders, warnings and road closures though Highway 70 north of Pulga is under traffic control and only using one lane.

A virtual community meeting will be held tonight, Wednesday, at 5 p.m. and will be streamed live to the Plumas National Forest Facebook page. www.facebook.com/USFSPlumas

There will be two operational briefing videos posted daily to the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page.  Team Planning meetings (daily at 7 p.m.) and Cooperator Meetings (Mon-Wed-Fri at 10 a.m.) will be available to watch via Zoom (https://usfs.zoomgov.com/j/1602646317). Evacuations and Road Closures Butte County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all evacuation orders, warnings and road closures though Highway 70 north of Pulga is under traffic control only using one lane. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office has evacuation orders and warnings issued covering the Highway 70 corridor and surrounding area. Please check their websites and Facebook pages for the latest updates. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.   Smoke Outlook: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/EasternSierra or www.airnow.gov/
Plumas National Forest closures: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

California Interagency Incident Management Team 4 is implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in both the fire area and surrounding communities.

Incident Start Date: 8/17/2020                      Size: 318,928 acres      Containment: 87%    

Engines: 59   Handcrews: 26   Dozers: 35    Helicopters: 13    Water Tenders: 39    Total Personnel: 1,286

Fatalities: 15                                                   Structures Damaged/Destroyed: 2,471

Current Situation

Today, crews continue to patrol the fire perimeter looking for any existing heat sources and extinguishing them as they are found. Firefighters continued to mop up the spot fire to ensure no remaining heat exists in the area. The fire remained within containment lines and east of Highway 70. Several crews will be working a swing shift to provide additional coverage.

PG&E has shut off power to the Bucks Lake and Haskins areas, due to aircraft working adjacent to distribution lines. The power shut off is expected to last through tomorrow evening (Wednesday, October 7th). However, this time frame is subject to change. Per the Plumas County Sheriff's Office, these areas remain under a Mandatory Evacuation. Check the PG&E website for latest conditions.

State Route 70 is now open to one-way traffic control with a pilot car between Rock Crest and Rock Creek. However, the road can return to a full closure at any time due to fire activity. Refer to the CalTrans website for the latest status.

Butte County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all evacuation orders, warnings and road closures though Highway 70 north of Pulga is under traffic control and only using one lane.

Tonight, and the next few days, firefighters will continue to mop up and patrol increasing the depth of the containment lines. An expected cold front will bring increased winds from the southwest that will test containment lines.

A virtual community meeting will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, at 5 p.m. and will be streamed live to the Plumas National Forest Facebook page. www.facebook.com/USFSPlumas

There will be two operational briefing videos posted daily to the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page.  Team Planning meetings (daily at 7 p.m.) and Cooperator Meetings (Mon-Wed-Fri at 10 a.m.) will be available to watch via Zoom (https://usfs.zoomgov.com/j/1602646317). Evacuations and Road Closures Butte County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all evacuation orders, warnings and road closures though Highway 70 north of Pulga is under traffic control only using one lane. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office has evacuation orders and warnings issued covering the Highway 70 corridor and surrounding area. Please check their websites and Facebook pages for the latest updates. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.

 
TRAFFIC ADVISORY (PLUMAS COUNTY) - State Route 70 is now open to one-way traffic control with a pilot car between Rock Crest and Rock Creek. However, the road can be subject to a full closure at any time due to fire activity.

 
 

 

Fire

The North Complex is 318,731 acres, and is 86% contained. Firefighters continue to perform mop-up and patrol areas throughout the fire area in preparation for the expected increase in winds towards the end of this week.

Smoke

The fire did not put up much smoke on Monday and this brought a welcome improvement in air quality. At least one hour of green/good air was recorded yesterday at Quincy, Portola, Tahoe City, Truckee, Doyle, Reno, Carson City, Grass Valley, and Oroville. For some towns this relief may just be temporary, as smoke from other fires in California and Nevada is likely to affect the area Tuesday. Good air quality will be more widespread as the week goes on.

Health and Safety

When looking at this smoke outlook think of it as a tool to plan your day. Smoke concentrations can vary throughout the day, sometimes dramatically. If the area that you reside in has poor air quality and you desire outdoor activity, think about going to an area that is green (good air quality) for outdoor recreation. https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks

 

Incident Start Date: 8/17/2020                      Size: 318,731 acres      Containment: 86%    

Engines: 31   Handcrews: 31   Dozers: 38    Helicopters: 13    Water Tenders: 63    Total Personnel: 1,368

Fatalities: 15                                                   Structures Damaged/Destroyed: 2,471

Current Situation

Last night, crews conducted hand ignitions in the steep terrain along the penstocks to secure sections of the line. Heavy equipment, aircraft and crews are being utilized to keep the fire in check as it backs down to the Feather River. The fire remains on the east side of Highway 70.

Today, firefighters continue to mop up and patrol, checking for any hot spots near control lines. Fire behavior is influenced by extremely dry timber understory, grass and brush in steep terrain spread by diurnal canyon winds (up canyon during the day and down in the evening).

A virtual community meeting will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, at 5 p.m. and will be streamed live to the Plumas National Forest Facebook page.

There will be two operational briefing videos posted daily to the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page.  Team Planning meetings (daily at 7 p.m.) and Cooperator Meetings (Mon-Wed-Fri at 10 a.m.) will be available to watch via Zoom (https://usfs.zoomgov.com/j/1602646317). Evacuations and Road Closures Butte and Plumas County Sheriff’s Offices have evacuation orders and warnings issued covering the Highway 70 corridor and surrounding area. Please check their websites and Facebook pages for the latest updates. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.   Smoke outlook: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/EasternSierra or www.airnow.gov/

Plumas National Forest closures: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

California Interagency Incident Management Team 4 is implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in both the fire area and surrounding communities.

 Current Situation

Today, aerial ignitions did not occur in the area around the penstocks. Potentially, hand ignitions will be conducted late tonight into early tomorrow morning to secure small sections of the line. Firefighters continued to cold trail the spot near French Creek and secure containment line over to Highway 70. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office has lifted the Quincy La Porte Road evacuation advisory and the “Residents only” advisory for La Porte. The Quincy La Porte Road from Red Bridge south to the Plumas County Line is open. All other evacuation orders and advisories remain in place.

Tonight, firefighters will continue to mop-up and patrol in preparation for the expected increased winds at the end of the week. If fire progression holds at the penstocks, this weekend the evacuation order of the Bucks Lake and Haskins area will be re-evaluated.

The Plumas National Forest has issued a Closure Order, prohibiting entry within the North Complex, and on any National Forest System road or trail in the Mt. Hough and Beckwourth Ranger Districts. A copy of the complete order and map is available at the link below.

There will be two operational briefing videos posted daily to the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page.  Team Planning meetings (daily at 7 p.m.) and Cooperator Meetings (Mon-Wed-Fri at 10 a.m.) will be available to watch via Zoom (https://usfs.zoomgov.com/j/1602646317). Evacuations and Road Closures Butte and Plumas county sheriff’s offices have evacuation orders and warnings issued covering the Highway 70 corridor and surrounding area. Please check their websites and Facebook pages for the latest updates. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.   Smoke outlook: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/EasternSierra or www.airnow.gov/

Plumas National Forest closures: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

California Interagency Incident Management Team 4 is implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in both the fire area and surrounding communities.

 Current Situation

Today, aerial ignitions did not occur in the area around the penstocks. Potentially, hand ignitions will be conducted late tonight into early tomorrow morning to secure small sections of the line. Firefighters continued to cold trail the spot near French Creek and secure containment line over to Highway 70. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office has lifted the Quincy La Porte Road evacuation advisory and the “Residents only” advisory for La Porte. The Quincy La Porte Road from Red Bridge south to the Plumas County Line is open. All other evacuation orders and advisories remain in place.

Tonight, firefighters will continue to mop-up and patrol in preparation for the expected increased winds at the end of the week. If fire progression holds at the penstocks, this weekend the evacuation order of the Bucks Lake and Haskins area will be re-evaluated.

The Plumas National Forest has issued a Closure Order, prohibiting entry within the North Complex, and on any National Forest System road or trail in the Mt. Hough and Beckwourth Ranger Districts. A copy of the complete order and map is available at the link below.

There will be two operational briefing videos posted daily to the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page.  Team Planning meetings (daily at 7 p.m.) and Cooperator Meetings (Mon-Wed-Fri at 10 a.m.) will be available to watch via Zoom (https://usfs.zoomgov.com/j/1602646317). Evacuations and Road Closures Butte and Plumas county sheriff’s offices have evacuation orders and warnings issued covering the Highway 70 corridor and surrounding area. Please check their websites and Facebook pages for the latest updates. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.   Smoke outlook: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/EasternSierra or www.airnow.gov/

Plumas National Forest closures: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

California Interagency Incident Management Team 4 is implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in both the fire area and surrounding communities.

Fire

The North Complex is 318,724 acres, an increase of 1,265 acres from last report, and is 83% contained. The fire is gradually backing and flanking to the northeast. Crews continue to construct, improve and extend control lines on the north side of the fire. This work is occurring along Hwy 70 as well as the rest of the uncontained fire perimeter.

Smoke

There is still significant smoke lingering over the area. An atmospheric high pressure system is causing hot, dry, and calm weather. Cooler and windier conditions are expected Friday. Firefighters are preparing for this eventuality. One positive outcome is there will likely be cleaner air by the end of the week. On Monday and Tuesday however, expect continued moderate to USG conditions. Communities in the Sacramento Valley, Sierra mountains and East of the Sierra are all likely to see haze and smell smoke.

Check it out

In addition to airnow.gov, there's an app for that! EPA's Smoke Sense app (for android and iphone) makes it easy to find out about the latest air quality conditions near you. You can also report your observations.