Wildfire

Feather Publishing
8/22/2012

The Ponderosa Fire is getting closer to Plumas County as it is spreading to the southeast and affecting many of our neighbors so we have begun online coverage of this fire as well.

The Ponderosa Fire is listed at 24,323 acres and is 50% contained.

50 structures have been destroyed.

Highway 44 will be opened today.

A hard closure remains on Forward Road at Manton Corners and Wilson Hill Road at Digger Creek.

Evacuation warnings have been issued for Highway 36 from Ponderosa Sky Ranch to Lassen Lodge and Mineral communities.

Come back to our Wildfire page for futher updates...

For more information click go to the Calfire Ponderosa link.

62,541 acres with 37% containment. 1,174 personnel

Fire Status: As expected, winds today became stronger, averaging twelve to thirteen miles per hour across the fire area, with 24 mile per hour gusts. This resulted in increased fire activity particularly to the east of Butt Valley Reservoir. Large amounts of interior fuels burned, with wind funneling the fire up the North Fork Feather River towards the spillway at Canyon Dam. Several spot fires occurred outside the fire perimeter, across Highway 89. All observed spot fires were contained. Crews and engines will continue to patrol the area tonight, particularly the communities of Canyon Dam, the Big Meadows area, and Prattville, as well as throughout the Seneca area to watch for and extinguish additional spot fires.

Firing operations that were accomplished the past two nights contributed significantly to stopping the fire's spread across Highway 89 and into the Canyon Dam area today. Removing ground fuels at night, under favorable conditions, provided for a reduction of fire behavior when winds materialized today.

Tomorrow, winds are expected to minimize as a dry air mass moves into the area.

In the Red Hill area, the fire became active again today, limiting the extent of planned burnout activities. Minimal firing was conducted, however, in an effort to prevent the fire from moving towards the Red Hill Communications Site.

Along the west flank of the fire, hotshot crews continue to slowly and methodically build fire line directly along the fire's edge, working from north to south towards the Chips Creek drainage. A Wildland Fire Module, which is a specialized crew of ten people trained to work self-sufficiently in the back country for extended periods, was inserted into the south-west area of the fire today. This crew will camp near Morris Lake, and seek opportunities to construct fire line into the Chips Creek drainage working from south to north. A second Wildland Fire Module is expected to arrive tomorrow, and will join the crew currently on-site. Also, infra-red mapping will be conducted tomorrow on this portion of the fire to pin-point hot spots for the crew to focus on extinguishing.

Evacuations and Closures: Per the Plumas County Sheriff's Department, Mandatory Evacuations are in place for the communities of Prattville, Canyon Dam and the Big Meadows area. A Voluntary Evacuation is in place for Almanor. An Advisory is in effect to all West Almanor and East Shore residents (Hwy. 147) advising of the potential threat of the fire to the areas. An evacuation Center is located at the Chester Memorial Hall on Gay Street. Highway 147 was closed earlier today, however, it has been re-opened to all traffic. Highway 89 from Butt Lake Road to 4.3 miles north of Greenville is closed to all traffic due to heavy smoke and a large amount of emergency equipment on the roadway. For more information, please go to: http://www.countyofplumas.com/DocumentCenter/View/8785

Community Meetings: A community meeting will be held tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. at the Lake Almanor West Community Park, 177 Lake Almanor West Drive, Lake Almanor West, CA 96020.

Highway 89 remains closed to all traffic from Butt Valley Road on the north to 4.3 miles north of Greenville on the south. This road closure is due to heavy smoke limiting visibility and as well as a large amount of emergency equipment moving along the roadway. Please continue to check for updates, as conditions are subject to change.

HIghway 147 is open as of 8 p.m. tonight.

Update: Highway 36 opened sometime during the night of August 21.... It was closed from Paynes Creek Post Office to 2.2 miles west of Mineral due to a wildland fire. Mineral residents were allowed access driving home from the Chester area through the roadblock at the junction of Highway 36 and Highway 32.

1:45 p.m. update

Chips Fire now 52,738 acres
Click here to see the most current Chips Fire map

10:00 a.m. update

Another successful burnout operation was executed last night along the eastern border of Butt Valley Reservoir. This completes a half circle burnout around the active northeast section of the fire in preparation for today's weather which includes strong, gusty winds out of the southwest.

Burnouts from Sunday night have progressed up to two miles into the fire area, meeting objectives to reduce and remove unburned fuels between the head of the fire and neighboring communities. As afternoon winds pick up, firefighters will deepen and reinforce control lines along Highway 89. Engines will also patrol the communities of Prattville, Canyon Dam and Big Meadows to watch for fallout from burning material. Efforts will continue throughout the day to strength control lines from the north end of Butt Valley Reservoir to the burnout line in the Prattville area.

While line construction and mop-up continue from Belden up to Caribou, a small area around Red Hill continues to be an issue for firefighters who will patrol the control line and watch for spot fires.

The Reading Fire is 27,887 acres and is now 79% contained.

Click here to view the most recent map.

Yesterday, the fire held within all lines on the fire. Firefighters continue to hold, patrol and mop up. Firelines were completed on the eastern part of the fire. With strong southwest winds, the eastern perimeter may be exposed to winds that may challenge these firelines. Fire fighters on these lines will be keeping a watchful eye on the line and outside the fireline so they can quickly respond to flare up or hotspots. Along the southern and eastern flanks helicopters were used to extinguish hot spots and support crews.

Crews will continue repairing the Pacific Crest Trail and other areas impacted by fire suppression. Minimum Impact Suppression Techniques are being utilized within the park. Crews are prepared for initial attack in Lassen Volcanic National Park and are available for structure protection. Snag removal will continue on the Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway.

A meeting to discuss the Chips Fire was held 12:30 p.m., Aug. 20, 2012 at Hamilton Branch Fire District.

The fire has been upgraded to a type 1 fire and is now being managed by California Intradistrict Management Team 4.

“We are very fortunate to have an incredible amount of resources from California. Due to the complexity of the fire, we are able to bring in additional resources as needed,” said Team 4 Incident Manager Rocky Oplinger.

The volunteer team from the American Red Cross of Northeast California, Almanor Basin Branch went into action Sunday, Aug. 19, in preparation for community members displaced due to fire evacuations in Canyon Dam.

“We began arriving at 5:50 p.m. and had shelter operations at the Chester Memorial Hall ready to go by 7 p.m.,” lead volunteer Linda White said Aug. 20.

Shortly after going operational, the volunteers were visited by Plumas County District 3 Supervisor Sherrie Thrall and Plumas County Office of Emergency Services Director Jerry Sipe.