Dixie Fire just shy of 60,000 acres this morning July 20
The Dixie Fire that broke out one week ago just above Cresta Dam in the Feather River Canyon has grown to 59,984 acres as of this morning, is 15 percent contained, has destroyed two structures and is threatening 810 more.
It was a very active night on the fire — last evening the acreage burned was estimated to be 40,500 acres — so it grew by nearly 50 percent overnight. There are 2,409 personnel assigned to the fire, but that number is about to increase. During last night’s incident command briefing, Chief Nick Truax said a significant order had been placed to beef up personnel in Plumas County, and a second incident command team will be established due to the complexities of the fire.
To date the Dixie Fire has been managed out of Oroville in Butte County, but as the fire pushes farther north and east — as it did again overnight — it is Plumas County that is bearing the brunt of the fire, which is still officially under investigation. However, yesterday, PG&E filed documents with the California Public Utilities Commission that indicate some of its equipment may have been involved.
In Plumas County, mandatory evacuations are in place along both sides of the Highway 70 corridor from the Butte/Plumas County line to the Greenville Wye; as well as the communities of Meadow Valley, Bucks Lake, Bucks Lake Highlands, Tollgate, Snake Lake and all surrounding areas; Caribou Road north to the Humbug Road and Humboldt Road intersection, including the Belden and Butt Valley reservoirs; Prattville Butt Reservoir Road and everything west to the Butte Plumas County Line; the community of Seneca.
Additionally the communities of Canyon Dam, Prattville and the West Shore of Lake Almanor are under an evacuation advisory. To see all of the areas that are under some sort of advisory click here
The evacuation center at Quincy High School was closed midday yesterday due to the few number of evacuees that turned up. Instead individuals were instructed to call 530-283-6300. But as the evacuation zones increased, last evening an evacuation center was established at Springs of Hope church on Bell Lane. (More details as they become available.)
In issuing last night’s advisory for the Lake Almanor communities, Sheriff Todd Johns said it wasn’t due to the Dixie Fire advancing, but rather due to the number of lightning strikes coming from the fire that could ignite new fires. And because the smoke is so thick in the Almanor Basin, it is difficult to see any new starts. Those communities will soon see a greater presence of firefighters in the area and Chief Truax said that there are contingency lines in place to protect them.
Last night it was reported that the fire was not threatening Quincy, Magalia or Paradise.
Today’s weather will remain unsettled, but it isn’t expected to be as extreme as the past two days. According to the incident meteorologist, the weather is slowly moving back toward hot and dry, with southwest winds during the day and northeast winds at night. Air quality will continue to be hazardous in the Lake Almanor Basin.
