Fire remains active in Indian Valley; update on West zone
Plumas News contributor Ken Donnell reports that the Dixie Fire is very active above Diamond Mountain Road and North Arm in Indian Valley this afternoon. Donnell reported that he also saw a large active burn on the ridge above where Stampfli connects to North Valley Road. Helicopters were busy making water dumps on the hillside above Diamond Mountain Road.
West Zone
Operations Section Chief Mark Brunton presented an update late this morning, Aug. 14.
Brunton addressed the delay of repopulating Chester due to the heavy winds that threatened road closures yesterday. He said that the East Shore is looking good as is the Peninsula. Today, with the lull in the weather, crews will go more direct on the fire. A lot of control lines are on the southern portion of the lake.
He said that crews plan to institute a firing plan on Dyer Mountain, and want to complete that before the heavy winds arrive that are predicted early next week.
The threat toward Janesville is still there, but fire management has a full plan to surge resources to protect the community. They are also working closely with the Janesville Fire Department.
Moving into the Lassen section, the fire saw a significant run in the Warner Valley a couple of days ago. Fire intensity was so great, it did destroy some structures, but many were saved. Two firefighters sustained injuries while fighting to protect structures and were transported to the hospital, but have been released.
A lightning strike ignited about a 5-acre spot, but ground troops and air attack are addressing the fire in rugged terrain.
In addition to the official information, video footage this afternoon, shows that all structures appear to remain intact in Chester, and on the East Shore and in the Peninsula. Again, credit is due to Matthew Henderson who was driving through the area. Some structures in Chester were shown to be covered with retardant, as well as some streets and vehicles.
Chester Fire shared some video of the cemetery, and while the trees are burned on the perimeter the cemetery itself still boasts green lawn. However, the cemetery building is lost. The cemetery is located off of Highway 36, outside of the area that has been described as Chester Proper.
The incident command team for the West Zone announced today that in addition to tonight’s community meeting to be held at 7 p.m. (video to be posted later) another community meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 15, at 3 p.m. Both are open to the public with COVID restrictions in place.
