Update: Homes destroyed, 4,000 people evacuated for Jones Fire near Grass Valley, Nevada City
A wildfire burning since Monday has destroyed four houses in the hills of Nevada County and forced thousands to evacuate in the Grass Valley and Nevada City area, authorities said Tuesday morning.
Nearly 4,000 residents remain under mandatory evacuation orders, mainly in the hills west of the two cities. The homes as well as several outbuildings that have burned are in those hills, officials said.
Nevada County officials have also issued evacuation warnings to 11,600 residents of the area, including for a section of downtown Grass Valley.
Fire officials say they believe the Jones Fire, which ignited in the early morning hours Monday, was caused by lightning strikes.
Officials on Tuesday morning said the two cities are not, as of now, under threat from the fire. The main fire appeared to be burning about five miles west of the western edge of Nevada City, near Highway 49, which has been closed to traffic west of the city.
“That is good news for right now, but as we saw yesterday, the fire moved quickly in the afternoon,” county spokeswoman Taylor Wolfe said.
The fire had burned 550 acres at of Tuesday morning and was 5% contained, Nevada County OES reported.
Emergency officials have asked people in the area - many of whom live in the rural wildland-urban interface in the forested hills - to be ready to evacuate, should the fire gain momentum. Wolfe, Nevada County spokeswoman, said area residents are advised to connect with several friends, family and neighbors and to communicate with each other about helping each other during potential evacuations.
Officials said that includes determining a place to stay if they need to leave their home during the night.
County emergency services officials have set up four evacuation centers. They are Alder Creek elementary school in Truckee, Cottage Hill Elementary School in Grass Valley and Ready Springs Elementary in Penn Valley.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 8:48 AM.
