Firefighters working on a complex of lightning-sparked fires in Plumas National Forest were diverted Tuesday to a new blaze in the Feather River Canyon near Rich Bar.
The fire, four miles east of Belden, grew to 60 acres and was burning on both sides of Highway 70 by late Tuesday afternoon, said Rick Hartigan, a spokesman for the fire team coordinating management of the Canyon complex of fires.
Area residents were placed on a voluntary evacuation notice, with an evacuation center established in the Veterans Hall in Quincy.
The cause of the fire, which forced closure of Highway 70, is under investigation, Hartigan said.
– Jane Braxton Little
