Forward progress stopped on Dutch Fire in California; evacuations eased in Nevada, Placer counties
Firefighters have halted forward progress on a wildfire that sparked Saturday afternoon near Dutch Flat and prompted mandatory evacuations in two Northern California counties.
The Dutch Fire sparked about 3:30 p.m. along Lowell Hill Road near the Dutch Flat Forebay’s dam in Nevada County and burned at least 45 acres near the border with Placer County, according to Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit.
The fire had blazed along heavy timber and steep terrain at a dangerous rate of spread before more than 100 personnel were able to stop forward progress. On Sunday morning, firefighters had gained 15% containment and evacuations had eased to warnings in both Placer and Nevada counties.
“Cal Fire/Placer County Fire Department and multiple fire agencies from the surrounding area are battling the Dutch Fire in ... Unified Command,” firefighters said as night-flying helicopters aided the efforts.
“The heavily wooded area, steep terrain and remote location are making it challenging to contain the fire,” Cal Fire NEU officials said.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office ordered the mandatory evacuation of Zone 1 in most of Dutch Flat, a Placer community of nearly 200 residents nestled. The order came about 5 p.m. after deputies had issued evacuation warnings in the hills north of Interstate 80 on the road to Truckee and Lake Tahoe.
By 8 a.m., the order had been downgraded to voluntary evacuations, and a shelter set up for residents had been closed. Interstate 80 remains open in both directions, according to Caltrans.
Dutch Flat No. 2 Forebay, which has a 77-foot high earthen dam and has been part of the NID Yuba-Bear Hydroelectric Project since the 1960s is about 1½ miles uphill of Dutch Flat.
Evacuation warnings from the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office also were issued across zone E220, a strip of wildland dotted with homes north of the Bear River.
Placer County’s evacuation map is available at bit.ly/dutch-placer-evac-2024; Nevada County’s evacuations are available on Genasys Project.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
This story was originally published October 5, 2024 at 7:03 PM.