Massive wildfire burning in Plumas National Forest in Northern CA. Evacuations ordered

Update: Walker Fire burning in Plumas National Forest makes ‘significant run,’ evacuations remain.

Original story: A raging wildfire near Quincy in Plumas County erupted to 24,000 acres on Saturday, forcing evacuations in the area, the U.S. Forest Service reported.

The Walker Fire broke out Wednesday inside the Plumas National Forest about 11 miles east of Taylorsville. The blaze was at 2,000 acres on Friday morning, before strong winds in the area rapidly caused the fire to grow, burning over 17,000 acres by Friday night.

As of Saturday morning, the fire had covered 24,040 acres and was zero percent containment.

“Fire activity increased substantially due to forecasted winds over the fire area,” the forest service said.

Strong winds propelled a number of small spot fires that threatened homes and structures in the area, but crews fought them back and contained the spot fires, according to the news release.

No structures have been destroyed.

The fire is burning about 120 miles northeast of Sacramento.

Evacuations have been ordered for the Genesee Valley corridor, the Ward Creek area, the Flournoy Bridge area, and Antelope Lake. Genesee Valley Road and Antelope Lake Road have also been closed. No structures have been lost.

Over 500 firefighters along with air tankers and ground resources are currently fighting the fire.

A plume of smoke from the blaze could reportedly be seen from as far away as Reno.

Wildfires broke out in other rural areas of Northern California, including in Lake and Butte counties, according to Cal Fire.

This story was originally published September 7, 2019 at 3:03 PM.