Heat, wind spur California fire; evacuation hits Nevada

Blaze has forced the closure of nearly 200 square miles of Plumas National forest

BECKWOURTH, Calif. — A California wildfire that closed nearly 200 square miles of forest forced evacuations across state lines into Nevada on Friday as winds and scorching, dry weather drove flames forward through trees and brush.

The Beckwourth Complex — which began as two lightningcaused fires in Plumas National Forest — showed “extreme behavior,” fire information officer Lisa Cox said Friday evening.

Hot rising air formed a gigantic, smoky pyrocumulus cloud that reached thousands of feet high and created its own lightning, Cox said.

Spot fires caused by embers leapt up to a mile ahead of the northeastern flank — too far for firefighters to safely battle, Cox said.

Winds up to about 20 mph on ridgetops were funneling flames up draws and canyons full of dry fuel, where “it can actually pick up speed,” Cox said.

By evening, the fire was approaching U.S. 395, a main interstate in the northern Sierra Nevada not far from the border. Although the flames hadn’t crossed that divide, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office told people to evacuate some areas in the rural communities of Ranch Haven and Flanagan Flats, north of Reno.

“Evacuate now,” a Sheriff’s office tweet said.

Although there are no confirmed reports of building damage, the fire already prompted evacuation orders or warnings for hundreds of homes and several campgrounds in California along with the closure of nearly 200 square miles of Plumas National Forest.

The blaze, which was only 11% contained, officially had blackened more than 38 square miles but that figure was expected to increase dramatically when fire officials were able to make better observations.

Nearly 1,000 firefighters were aided by aircraft but the blaze was expected to continue leaping through trees and chaparral that already are bone-dry because of low humidity and a heat wave forecasted to continue through the weekend.