Evacuation warnings affect Shasta County
Containment of Dixie Fire stands firm at 45percent while evacuation warnings now cover 5 counties.
With the evacuation warnings issued in Shasta County on Wednesday, the Dixie Fire now spans five counties: Plumas, Tehama, Lassen, Butte and Shasta.
After steady rise of containment over the past couple days, containment on Thursday stood still at 45 percent.
The fire grew an additional 4,367 acres Thursday, Cal Fire reported, bringing the total acres burnt to 747,091. On Wednesday, Cal Fire reported the Dixie Fire burnt 7,660 acres.
Temporary road closures are now in place for Highway 44 from A21 to Old Station due to fire activity, Cal Fire announced on Wednesday.
Evacuation warnings are in affect for the areas of Old Station and Hat Creek, Shasta County Sheriff’s Office announced. The evacuation warning is for both sides of Highway 44 from Big Pines Road, north of Brians Way, due to fire activity.
Some roads are reopening however, with portions of Highway 299 access available Thursday following closure since the beginning of the Dixie Fire. Traffic will be one-way with flagging operations and available only to local traffic. Cars will be escorted by pilot every three hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On Tuesday, evacuation orders in the Dixie Mountain range north of the Plumas/Lassen County line including Jordan Flat, Ferris Flat, Fitch Canyon and Cottonwood Mountain were lowered to evacuation warnings. Also lowered to evacuation warnings is the Sugar Loaf area including Frenchman Road near Bloomer Lake Road, north to the county line, and the Plumas side of Doyle Grade.
Evacuation orders were reduced to warnings for Janesville and Milford west of Highway 395 from Jeters Road and Appleblossom Lane, south to Milford Grade and west to the base of the mountain.
The lowering of evacuation orders follows Monday afternoon’s decision by the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office to lift several evacuation warnings in the Lake Almanor area. This included the High Lakes recreational area and the entire west shore of Lake Almanor to the Canyondam boat ramp. Evacuation warnings in Butte County are still in effect.
Additionally, operations resumed Wednesday at the Westwood and Janesville post offices after temporary closures due to the fire. Customers normally served by the Milford Post Office are being directed to the Herlong Post Office at 2067 Yuba St. in Herlong for mail pick up. Photo ID is required.
There were no changes to structures affected on Thursday, Cal Fire reported. The total number of destroyed structures is still currently 1,273. The total number of damaged structures is 92. There are 11,813 structures in the fire zone threatened by the fire.
East zone
In the east zone, hotshot crews continued working off Mount Jura to the bottom of the valley to secure Talyorsville, Cal Fire reported on Thursday morning. Crews will continue to aggressively mop up heavy materials to reduce spotting. No spot fires have occurred and crews will continue to focus on holding the containment line.
In the Genesee Valley, crews actively engaged in structure protection near Ward Creek and Little Grizzly Creek as the Peel Ridge spot fire backed down into the valley. Crews are continuing to work on suppressing fire activity.
In the Five Bears and Ward Creek area, structure preparation was completed. Ground crews and aircraft worked the western edge of the Grizzly spot and kept it from moving west. Cal Fire reported the fire continues to flank mostly in the eastern direction.
Thursday morning’s incident report noted significant progress was made on the contingency lines down Grizzly Ridge to the southeast to protect communities Greenhorn and Quincy. Additional work was also carried out in Peters Creek to remove a pocket of unburned fuel to secure the line north of Taylorsville.
In the Indian Valley, crews continued to patrol and mop up. In the Dyer Mountain area, crews continue to work at removing the concentration of heat near the line in Second Water Trough Creek. Heavy equipment and crews are working to secure the spot fire near Antelope Lake.
West zone
In the west zone, winds calmed after sunset on Wednesday. Cal Fire reported the fire remained active despite the wind into Wednesday night.
Spotting and torching was limited to areas in and around Lassen Park with fire burning in a number of remote areas with limited access due to steep and rugged terrain.
With evacuation warnings being lifted, Cal Fire is strongly encouraging returning residents to remain vigilant with regard to current fire conditions. The fire agency added some residents may see smoke coming from trees and stumps for days following their return, telling those returning if they are concerned about active flames, call 911 instead of attempting to deal with the fire themselves.
Cal Fire noted Northern California has experienced large fire activity and will likely experience an extended fire season. The state fire agency added fires burning in Northern California are exhibiting extreme fire growth based on critical fuel conditions and have traveled up to eight miles in a single day.
There are currently no evacuation orders in Butte County. Evacuation warnings remain in effect for for the areas of Butte Meadows, Jonesville, Snag Lake and Lake Philbrook.
Evacuation warnings in Butte County include at Butte Meadows at Humboldt Road and Thatcher Ridge, up to Cherry Hill campgrounds and north to the Butte and Tehama County lines. In Jonesville the warning includes the area of Highway 32 at the Butte and Tehama County line, east to the area of Cherry Hill campground, southeast to Snake Lake, southwest to Skyway at Bull Creek, and north along Skyway to Humboldt Road. The Lake Philbrook area, which includes Philbrook Lake south to Browns Ravine Road, is also under an evacuation warning.
Lassen County Sheriff Dean Growdon said for the most up to date information about road closures follow Caltrans or California Highway Patrol on social media. A full view of the fires burning across California can be found by visiting https://www.fire. ca.gov/incidents.