Wildfire updates: Beckwourth Complex hits 71% containment, new fire explodes in Plumas County

Buoyed by better weather conditions, firefighters say they are gaining the upper hand on a Northern California wildfire that has raged for more than a week and are increasing containment of other fires that sparked across the state this weekend. But firefighters are struggling to contain a new fire rapidly expanding in Butte County.

The Beckworth Complex, California’s largest so far this season, has chewed through a significant portion of eastern Lassen and Plumas counties, burned homes in Doyle and created its own weather. Despite this, firefighters were able to push containment up beyond 71% Wednesday, and said fire lines around populated areas are holding.

The new Dixie Fire, however, expanded rapidly in Plumas County on Wednesday morning, prompting evacuation warnings for nearby towns as firefighters struggle to gain control.

The River Fire, meanwhile, is burning in Mariposa County south of Yosemite National Park. It initially expanded rapidly since it began Sunday afternoon, but firefighters kept growth to a minimum and expanded containment Tuesday.

Other wildfires that burned this month in Northern California are reaching containment. Little spread was seen from the Lava, Salt or Tennant fires in the last 72 hours. Further north, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon continues to threaten California’s power grid, as it burns over 312 square miles about an hour north of the California border.

Here are updates on the major wildfires affecting California residents, as of 8 a.m. Wednesday:

Beckwourth Complex

The Beckwourth Complex, located in the Plumas National Forest between Beckwourth in Plumas County and the Nevada state line, has burned 95,358 acres, or 145 square miles, and is 71% contained.

It is comprised of the Dotta Fire, which started June 30, and the larger Sugar Fire, which started July 2, and both were sparked by lightning. The Dotta Fire is 99% contained after growing to 594 acres.

The complex more than tripled in size through the weekend, growing from 25,000 acres Friday to 89,000 acres Monday morning. But firefighters were able to gain more control Monday, keeping expansion to under 3,000 acres while increasing containment from 23% to 46%.

On Tuesday, firefighters once again kept expansion to around 3,000 acres and increased containment significantly as they secured fire lines near the populated areas of Doyle and Dixie Valley.

Over the weekend, the fire closed Highway 395 on multiple occasions as it jumped the road and burned into the town of Doyle. Firefighters have been able to keep the highway open since 6 p.m. Sunday, and officials said Tuesday evening that the highway corridor looked “really good.”

Some mandatory evacuations remain in Plumas and Lassen counties, although many were downgraded to warnings throughout the day Tuesday, including those for Dixie Valley and some of the areas surrounding Doyle. An evacuation order remains in place for residents of Doyle proper.

Some mandatory evacuations were put in place in Washoe County, Nevada, over the weekend, but were lifted Monday.

Several buildings in the town of Doyle were seen burning Saturday. The Doyle Fire Protection District reported Monday that 33 homes in the town were burned. A larger damage assessment team has been assigned to the fire complex by U.S. Forest Service officials, and has not yet issued information as to structure damages. One resident suffered first-degree burns from the fire, officials said, and one firefighter injury has been reported.

The complex’s expansion last week was driven by excessive heat and strong winds, which gusted up to 30 mph. Officials said Wednesday that the heat is expected to let up, although winds could continue to gust up to 25 mph through Wednesday afternoon.

Dixie Fire

The Dixie Fire in Plumas County exploded in size Wednesday morning, growing to 1,200 acres with 0% containment. It has prompted evacuation warnings for Pulga and East Concow in nearby Butte County.

The Dixie Fire began as a small vegetation fire Tuesday along the north fork of the Feather River and Highway 70 in Plumas County, a few miles east of the Butte County line. It was originally held to under 2 acres. But the fire expanded rapidly Wednesday morning, growing to 500 acres by 8:30 a.m. and to 1,200 acres by 9:45 a.m.

The fire is burning in the footprint of the 2018 Camp Fire and last summer’s North Complex Fire. Those fires ravaged towns in Butte County and collectively killed over 100 people.

Cal Fire officials said Wednesday morning that the fire is burning north, away from populated areas. Officials have put in a “large resource order” to fight the fire, and said they were being hampered by non-fire personnel using drones in the area.

River Fire

The River Fire has burned 9,500 acres (15 square miles) since it began Sunday afternoon, and sits at 21% containment. The fire is burning on the border of Mariposa County and Madera County, southwest of Yosemite National Park.

The fire initially grew rapidly, hitting 9,500 acres in less than 48 hours. The fire remained stagnant through the day Tuesday, however, and firefighters were able to increase containment from 15% to 21%.

Evacuation orders are in place across Madera County, and areas of Mariposa County near the fire are open to residents only. As of Wednesday morning, five structures have been destroyed in the fire.

The fire is situated about 10 miles south of Mariposa, and 16 miles from the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. Smoke from the fire has descended into the San Joaquin Valley and is expected to linger in Fresno.

Bootleg Fire

The Bootleg Fire in central Oregon has charred over 212,000 acres (331 square miles), with no significant progress on containment. The fire is burning 35 miles northeast of Klamath Falls and about 45 miles north of the California border.

The fire had grown rapidly since Thursday, before leveling out and burning just 5,000 acres through the day Sunday. Rapid growth picked back up Monday, with the fire growing an additional 50,000 acres through Monday afternoon and evening. Growth was kept to 12,000 acres through the day Tuesday.

Seven homes and 43 outbuildings were destroyed in the fire as of Monday morning. Over 1,000 homes are under evacuation orders.

The fire has disrupted three major electricity transmission lines, which provide up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to California. As a heat wave hit the state over the weekend, California’s power grid was stretched thin.

The California Independent System Operator issued back-to-back flex alerts Friday and Saturday in a push to conserve power during the heatwave. At one point Friday evening, the ISO issued a Stage 2 emergency alert, as the Oregon fire and the heat caused strain on the power grid. It was only the second Stage 2 alert since 2006.

Additional Northern California fires

Major fires that have raged in Northern California over the past two weeks have begun to slow. The Lava, Salt and Tennant fires have not shown significant growth in the last 72 hours, and all have containment rates about 75%.

Crews are engaged in mop-up efforts in Shasta and Siskiyou counties. The Lava Fire continues to spread slightly on Mount Shasta, where rugged terrain makes it difficult for firefighters to hold fire lines. The fire is 77% contained.

The Salt and Tennant fires are 90% and 100% contained, respectively.

The fires collectively charred over 48,000 acres. Current estimates say the fires destroyed 74 buildings, 43 of which were homes.

All evacuation orders have been lifted in the areas of the three fires.

This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 9:52 AM.