Wildfire

Reading Fire Update 8/11/2012

Feather Publishing

8/11/2012

There will be a public meeting tomorrow August 12th at the fire hall in Old Station at 6:00 p.m. Fire officials will be on hand to give an update on the Reading Fire. . . . . PUBLIC MEETING - AUGUST 12th in Old Station at the fire hall - 6:00 p.m.

NOTE: Lassen National Volcanic National Park Highway is now closed between the entrance to Manzanita Lake Campground to Summit Lake. Visitors still have access to Manzanita Lake Campground and the Loomis Museum.

This fire is burning very actively and causing spot fires ahead of the main fire. This continues to challenge the firefighters.

The fire will continue burning up slopes of Raker Peak, on eastern edge the fire will continue burning upslope to the northest towards Hat Mountain and Cluster Lakes. Firefighters will continue indirect handline preparation on the east and west flanks of the fire. Crews have been successful holding the control lines and are now mopping up along the fire's edge along the Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway. Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway continues to be closed due to fire suppression activity.

Click here to see the current fire map.

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Chips Fire explodes to 27,000 acres; 7% contained

Feather Publishing

8/10/2012

10:00 p.m. update

Critical fire weather produced extreme fire behavior on the Chips Fire’s north and northeast flanks, and posed a challenging day for firefighters. The fire made a major run out of Mosquito Creek towards Butt Valley Reservoir and spotted across the Feather River onto Red Hill.

The Plumas County Sheriff’s Office issued mandatory evacuations for the communities of Rush Creek and Seneca. Additional evacuations may be necessary depending on fire activity.

PG&E transmission lines where shut down to allow for the use of heavy air tankers.Power outages impacted the surrounding communities in Lake Almanor region including portions of Quincy, Chester and Susanville.

Reading Fire grows to over 9,000 acres

Feather Publishig

8/10/2012

11:00 a.m. update

The Reading Fire is now approximately 9,063 acres and 5% contained.

Late yesterday, a spot fire got established at the base of West Prospect Peak. Due to very dry fuel conditions, firefighters have contended with the fire spotting across the lines.

The Lassen National Forest and Lassen Volcanic National Park are working together and providing a coordinated response to the fire. Smoke impacts will continue for the foreseeable future.

Chips Fire 8/9/2012 update

Feather Publishing

8/9/2012

8:00 p.m. update

Crews kept the fire within containment lines despite challenging weather conditions including hot temperatures, gusty winds, and low humidity. Most of the smoke produced today was generated by active fire spread in the Soda Creek drainage which cast a spot fire into Grizzly Meadows. Burning operations conducted by crews yesterday afternoon helped keep the fire at bay.

Crews began mop up along the northern flank. The fire backed down slopes to Highway 70 along its southeastern flank. Downslope movement was also observed near Mosquito Creek on the eastern flank. Aircraft supported crews with water drops to cool areas of intense heat that could have generated additional spot fires in that drainage area. With the exception of upper Soda Creek fire activity was minimal along the western flank.

Crews also continued to construct and plan for additional contingency lines as an added measure of protection for nearby communities and valued places far ahead of the fire area should the fire overcome primary containment lines.

Reading Fire 8/9/20112 Update

Feather Publishing

8/9/2012

Lassen Park Highway closed due to 3,700 acre wildfire.

A Community Meeting will be held tonight at the Hat Creek Volunteer Fire Department on Highway 89 at 7:00 pm to discuss the current fire situation.

On July 23, thunderstorms produced numerous lightning strikes within Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Forest Service responds to Board of Supervisors questions about Chips Fire

Dan McDonald
Deputy Forest Supervisor Laurence Crabtree updates the Plumas County Supervisors on Forest Service efforts to battle the Chips Fire. Photo by Dan McDonald

Staff Writer

8/8/2012

“We are committed to stopping this fire. Every day we plan to turn the corner on this.”

That was Deputy Plumas National Forest Supervisor Laurence Crabtree’s message to the county’s Board of Supervisors.

Crabtree, along with Forest Supervisor Earl Ford and Public Affairs Officer Lee Anne Schramel, briefed the supervisors during the board’s Tuesday, Aug. 7, meeting.

After Crabtree brought the supervisors up to date on the Chips Fire, some of the board members asked Crabtree how long it took the Forest Service to respond to the fire after it was spotted about 2 a.m. July 29.

PG&E Preparing to Install Generators in Quincy Area

The Chips fire is posing a significant threat to Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) electric facilities, including transmission lines that serve PG&E customers in Quincy, East Quincy and other nearby communities. As a precaution, PG&E is working to bring in mobile generators to three substations so power to 3,400 homes and businesses can continue should fires cause an outage to both transmission lines serving these substations.

Lassen Park fire managers fight 2,000 acre lightning fire

Lassen Park switches to suppression mode on the 2,000 acre Reading Fire.

On July 23, thunderstorms produced numerous lightning strikes within Lassen Volcanic National Park. One of the strikes ignited a fire approximately one mile northeast of Paradise Meadow between the Terrace Lake and Paradise Meadows Trails. This fire, named the Reading Fire, is a naturally ignited wildfire that was being managed for ecosystem health, habitat improvement and wildlife enrichment. The fire crept and smoldered with intermittent areas of open flame and occasional individual and group tree torching until yesterday afternoon when winds picked up and shifted creating several hot spots across the park road.

Chips Fire rages on

Feather Publishing

8/8/2012 10:00 p.m. update

Crews were successful today in controlling spot fires on the north flank of the fire in the area of Cottonwood Meadow. Firefighters also were able to contain multiple spot fires west of the Caribou Junction on Highway 70. A contingency line has been initiated from the Yellow Creek area to Butt Lake should the fire escape primary containment lines on the fire’s northeast flank. A north flank contingency line along Humbug Road is also under construction.

Containment objectives for the Chips Fire are to keep the fire south of Humbug Summit Road, north of Highway 70 and Tobin, west of the Butt Lake transmission lines, and East of Philbrook Reservoir. Crews are stationed in communities along the Feather River Canyon to provide structure protection.

Acreage remains the same because mapping flights were unable to safely fly over the fire area due to heavy smoke. Tonight’s winds are forecasted to shift from the southwest to down-canyon winds after 11:00 PM. Smoke is likely to settle into the canyon.