As containment rises, strong winds keep fire active
Strong winds kept the Dixie Fire active in the early hours Wednesday. Despite the winds, Cal Fire reported containment of the Dixie Fire rose from 43 percent to 45 percent.
After growing 2,165 acres on Tuesday, Cal Fire reported the Dixie Fire has grown an additional 1,589 acres. The fire has burned 735,064 total acres.
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 have been 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 have also been reduced to warnings for Janesville and Milford west of Highway 395 from Jeters Rd 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 are resuming 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.
The Dixie Fire, which started July 13 in the Feather River Canyon near the Cresta Powerhouse, has an expected containment date which remains “to be determined.”
Cal Fire reported 11 additional destroyed structures Wednesday morning, bringing the total number of destroyed structures to 1,273 lost. The total number of damaged structures rose to 92. There are 11,813 structures in the fire zone remain threatened by the fire.
Cal Fire reported that damage assessment is ongoing, and the numbers of damaged and destroyed structures may change as assessment teams are able to safely access the fire area.
East zone
Following Tuesday’s focus on the Taylorsville area as the fire made its way towards the community, extensive plumbing operations have been carried out and hose lines and water have now been run to every house in the community.
Cal Fire reported on the east end of the fire there was a small slop-over between the road and Antelope Lake that firefighters were able to catch and line. Between Antelope Lake and Genesee Valley the fire continues to back down the slope towards the road.
Tuesday evening, the Grizzly fire produced two spot fires to the east between the Walker slop-over and the Grizzly spot. Cal Fire reported the fires were visible from Quincy. These fires continued to grow into Wednesday morning and were estimated to be 500 acres in size.
Crews and aircraft worked Wednesday to prevent the Grizzly spot from moving south while heavy machinery will work on indirect control lines down Grizzly Ridge.
In Peters Creek work continued to improve and strengthen lines and mop-up. Structure preparation continues in the Five Bears and Ward Creek area. Crews continued to conduct heavy mopup activity in the Dyer Mountain area to secure the line.
West zone
Winds continued to an issue in the west zone on Wednesday following Tuesday’s steady winds of 10 to 15 miles per hour with gusts of 2 miles per hour, which brought increased fire activity.
Cal Fire reported the increased fire activity included single and group tree torching. The increase of winds also resulted in short and mid range spotting activity as well as short intense runs in the heavy timber when these winds were aligned with the slope.
Cal Fire reported humidity levels rose in areas of the fire reducing spotting except along the mid slopes where poor recoveries in the thermal belts were experienced. Smoke settled over the fire in the early hours of Wednesday. This reportedly helped moderate fire activity.
With evacuation warnings being lifted, Cal Fire is strongly encouraging returning residents to remain vigilant with regard to current fire conditions. They 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. Monday evening’s incident update said this year’s fuel conditions are much worse than previous years and have only been aided by wind, causing more significant fire spread.
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.