Fire near Marysville cut power to over 4,000 Yuba County residents. None evacuated
A fire cut electricity for thousands of Yuba County residents Thursday evening after burning power lines outside Marysville, county emergency officials said.
The grass fire ignited around 7 p.m. near Simpson Lane between Marysville and Linda, and “burned through several power lines,” though it did not threaten other structures or prompt evacuations, the Yuba County Office of Emergency Services said in a social media post around 8:30 p.m.
The incident left between 4,000 and 6,000 Yuba County residents in the dark that evening, according to the post. The fire impacted Pacific Gas and Electric Co. equipment, requiring infrastructure repair, the county said.
As of 7 a.m. Friday, PG&E’s online outage map showed only 83 homes and businesses without power in the area.
County officials say Thursday evening’s incident near Marysville was unrelated to PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoff, which continues for roughly 30,000 customers, an effort to mitigate wildfire risk amid gusty winds across Northern California. The intentional outage includes communities farther north in Yuba County, such as Oregon House and Dobbins.
PG&E said Thursday it expects to restore power Friday for most affected in this week’s PSPS.
No cause for the Simpson Lane fire has been given, and no injuries were reported.
Where are other fires burning in Northern California?
A handful of large wildfires are still burning in Northern California without full containment as of Friday morning.
The largest of them, and in fact the biggest fire in recorded state history, the August Complex centered at Mendocino National Forest has surpassed 1,030,000 acres and is 78% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Some evacuation orders remain in place, primarily in Mendocino County, but several others were lifted or downgraded to warnings Wednesday morning. The fire has been burning since being sparked by lightning in mid-August.
The North Complex in Butte and Plumas counties is 94% contained after charring nearly 319,000 acres, according to the Forest Service, which said in an incident report that winds during this week’s red flag warning weather conditions were lighter than expected on the fire zone, aiding firefighters who are mopping up and working toward 100% containment. No evacuation orders or warnings remain in place for either county.
In the North Bay region nicknamed Wine country, the destructive Glass Fire is 97% contained with Cal Fire reporting that fire activity has been minimal for several days. No significant flare-ups on the fire were reported during windy conditions Wednesday or Thursday. The Glass Fire ignited Sept. 27 and destroyed more than 640 homes in Napa and Sonoma counties.
