Northern California wildfire updates: Beckwourth Complex expands, containment grows
Three major wildfires continue to burn in Northern California amid triple-digit temperatures, covering tens of thousands of acres and destroying several homes.
TUESDAY’S UPDATE: BECKWOURTH COMPLEX NEARS 50% CONTAINMENT
The largest among these is now the Beckwourth Complex, two fires burning 45 miles north of Lake Tahoe in Plumas County. The fire saw extreme growth over the weekend, ballooning to over 130 square miles. It has now outpaced the Lava Fire to become the largest active fire in Northern California as well as the largest in California this year.
Containment improved on the Salt and Lava fires through the weekend, and another Northern California wildfire — the Tennant Fire — reached nearly full containment. The Beckwourth Complex fires are still threatening homes in eastern Plumas County and continue to expand rapidly. Between the three active fires, more than 124,000 acres have been burned.
Here are updates on Northern California’s largest blazes, as of 2 p.m. Monday:
Beckwourth Complex
The Beckwourth Complex fires, located between the small community of Beckwourth in Plumas County and the Nevada state line, have burned 89,748 acres and are 23% contained.
The complex is comprised of the Dotta Fire, which started on June 30, and the Sugar Fire, which started on July 2, and both were sparked by lightning. The Dotta Fire is 99% contained after growing to 670 acres.
The complex more than tripled in size this weekend, increasing from 25,000 acres Friday to its current size. But firefighters were able to gain more control of the fire on Sunday, keeping growth to under 6,000 acres and increasing containment from 8% to 23%.
“We had a very successful day out there today,” U.S. Forest Service officials said in a Sunday evening briefing.
On Monday afternoon, officials were able to lift all evacuation orders in Washoe County, Nevada, and lifted some evacuation orders in Lassen County, including for parts of Doyle. Still, officials warned that continuously high temperatures and winds predicted up to 30 mph could keep lead to “extreme fire behavior,” and said that all residents returning home should be prepared to leave again.
On Saturday the fast-moving Sugar Fire forced a temporary closure of Highway 395 through Sunday morning after the fire jumped the road and burned into the town of Doyle. Several buildings in Doyle were seen burning before the highway was reopened around 10:30 a.m. A damage assessment team has been assigned to the fire complex by Forest Service officials.
The highway was closed again just after 1 p.m. Sunday between Highway 70 and County Road A-26 as the fire neared traffic. It re-opened around 6 p.m. Officials warned on Monday morning that conditions could lead to another highway closure during the day.
U.S. Forest Service said earlier in the week that the fires would soon be under control, but they were whipped up by hot winds, pushing the Sugar Fire to grow by eight times its size on Thursday. Fire lines were forced back and containment plummeted from 30% down to 9%, then down again to 8% by Saturday.
Between Friday and Saturday morning, the complex more than doubled its span, growing from about 25,000 acres to just over 50,000 acres.
By Sunday, the Sugar Fire had grown by nearly 30,000 more acres.
“This extreme fire behavior is due to several factors (aligning) with critically dry and receptive fuels, hot temperatures, topography arrangement and southwest winds funneling through them,” U.S. Forest Service officials said in a Saturday morning update.
Evacuation orders remain in place for parts of Plumas County. Residents in Dixie Valley were told to leave as the fire surged on Thursday, and several roads are still shut down in the fire zone. Additional evacuation orders remain in Lassen County as well, including for part of the town of Doyle.
On Friday, the Forest Service observed a pyrocumulonimbus cloud develop over the fire — a kind of thunder cloud formed from hot smoky air above wildfires — and also said there were reports of lightning stemming from this pyrocumulonimbus on the east side of the fire.
A total of 2,326 fire personnel are assigned to the Beckwourth Complex.
Salt Fire
No new fire spread occurred through the weekend, according to the U.S. Forest Service, and several evacuation orders have been eased as crews get a handle on the wildfire.
“Areas of lingering smoke within the fire are visible, however, the perimeter of the fire remains stable with no growth over the past few days,” a Monday morning update read. “Firefighters are continuing to monitor containment lines while they conduct suppression and repair efforts.”
All evacuation orders in the region have been lifted or downgraded to evacuation warnings.
On Monday, the California Interagency Management Team announced that its personnel would be leaving the area, giving the U.S. Forest Service team full jurisdiction over the fire. Fire staffing has been decreased as the Salt Fire winds down. There are currently around 500 personnel assigned to the fire.
The Forest Service said that due to extremely dry conditions, there remains a high chance of further fire starts in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Officials advised residents of the area to avoid using any form of open flames in the forest.
The latest damage assessment estimates that 24 homes and 14 outbuildings have been destroyed and four other outbuildings have been damaged.
The fire is believed to have been started by a faulty vehicle driving along northbound Interstate 5.
Lava Fire
The Lava Fire was sparked by lightning on June 24 in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, 3½ miles northeast of Weed in Siskiyou County, and has burned 26,162 acres. It is 77% contained.
Up until Friday, the Lava Fire was the largest active fire in the state, before the Beckwourth Complex’s Sugar Fire exploded in size.
The fire grew by about 750 acres through the day and night Sunday. Officials said the growth is occurring on the fire’s north side on Mount Shasta, which is “largely inaccessible to ground resources.”
No significant perimeter growth has been observed in the Lava Fire for several days, and containment continues to inch forward. Over the weekend, 7% more was added to the overall containment as crews worked on mopping up the blaze.
The fire has proved destructive, however. The Forest Service estimates that 23 structures have been destroyed, including 14 homes, and one additional structure was damaged. Six firefighters have been hurt while fighting the blaze.
Cannabis farmers in the area, many of whom are Hmong, say their greenhouses have been burned by the fire. One Hmong man was shot to death by law enforcement on June 28 amid tensions between officials and the Hmong community.
A new fire sparked in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest near the Lava Fire on Sunday, and was dubbed the Bradley Fire. It grew to 357 acres before firefighters contained it Sunday night.
The fire was visible from McCloud, but never threatened any populated areas. It is now 90% contained.
This story was originally published July 10, 2021 at 11:27 AM.
