Dowd Fire: Fast-growing grass fire erupts in Placer County with ‘rapid rate of spread’
Firefighters were battling a fast-growing grass fire Monday as high winds swept through Placer County south of Sheridan.
Cal Fire and Placer County firefighters responded shortly after 2 p.m. to a 20-acre vegetation fire near North Dowd Road and Waltz Road, just west of Highway 65 and about six miles north of Lincoln Regional Airport. An hour later, Cal Fire reported the Dowd Fire had grown to about 100 acres, describing it as a “wind driven fire with a rapid rate of spread.”
No structures were being threatened at that time, Cal Fire said. The Lincoln City Fire Department and Wheatland Fire Authority were assisting firefighters from Cal Fire and the Placer County Fire Department.
Cal Fire reported 0% containment as of 3 p.m., but a tweet from Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit shortly before 3:30 p.m. indicated forward progress had been stopped. Cal Fire said the blaze was sparked by farm equipment. Officials later said crews had 50% containment and updated the size of the fire to 56 acres, attributing the change to “better mapping.”
The blaze began as California fire officials were bracing themselves for more high winds and critical fire danger. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning across Northern California, alerting residents to potentially dangerous and rapid fire spread, power outages and wind gusts up to 40 mph in the Sacramento Valley and 60 mph in the foothills.
This story was originally published October 26, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
