Sept. 22 North Complex Fire: Now 74 percent contained

September 22, 2020September 23, 2020 Editor

Meadow Valley and Tollgate residents are now back home after the mandatory evacuation was lifted, and Bucks, Haskins, Little Grass Valley Reservoir and La Porte residents are expected to be allowed back home soon. All are encouraged to drive carefully as fire personnel remain active in all areas.

The containment number on the North Complex Fire has increased to 74 percent as of this morning, with 299,723 acres burned. The damaged and destroyed structure count has risen to 2,053 (all but one property in the west zone). The death toll remains at 15.

There are 3,111 personnel assigned to the fire, but changes are coming. The Type 1 team that has been managing the north and south zones will be transitioning to a Type 2 team this week.

In the south zone, crews plan to continue firing operations that began overnight to reinforce dozer line in the Onion Valley area, should conditions permit. The fire continues to hold from Little Grass Valley south to Harrison Ridge and is largely in patrol status.

In the north zone, firefighters continue to focus on prepping along Grizzly Big Creek and south of Grizzly Forebay for firing operations. As always, firing operations can only happen with favorable weather conditions, which are expected today. Patrol and mop up continues on the Red Mountain Road and the containment lines continue to hold from Lookout Rock, east all the way to Quincy.

In the west zone, please see CAL FIRE Team 4 updates for more up to date information at: www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/18/north-complex-fire/

Video operational updates and live broadcasts for all portions of the fire can be viewed on Plumas National Forest’s Facebook page.

The North Complex began with the Claremont, Bear and Sheep fires. The latter broke out on the Plumas National Forest, but quickly pushed into Lassen County forcing evacuations around Susanville and destroying several homes. (It was broken off from the North Complex and handled separately).

The Claremont Fire broke out Aug. 17 as the result of a lightning strike. It forced evacuations and threatened the communities of East Quincy, La Porte Road, the Highway 70 corridor, Spring Garden, Greenhorn, Cromberg and Sloat during the past weeks. Only one outbuilding has been lost during the fire.

The Bear Fire also broke out Aug. 17 following a lightning strike. Initially it was left to burn because it wasn’t immediately a threat to people or property; it was in steep, rugged terrain; and resources were scarce due to the fires burning across the state. So though it held at 50 acres for a while, it grew to over 12,000 acres and threatened the communities of Bucks Lake, Haskins Valley, Tollgate and Meadow Valley. For full evacuation lists go to: