Current Situation

South Zone:

Planned night firing operations parallel to LaPorte Road did not take place last night as the window for favorable conditions diminished. Other ignitions that had taken place earlier yesterday were monitored throughout the night and patrolled with no significant changes. Approximately 3 miles of containment line was added around Little Grass Valley, which is represented in black on the incident map. Day shift resources will attempt to carry-out ignitions near the Pacific Crest Trail and along the dozer line parallel to LaPorte Road.

North Zone:

Night shift completed the ignitions along Red Mountain Road and today, resources will be monitoring and patrolling the line. Ignitions were not favorable for the night shift along Grizzly Big Creek but the day shift will attempt firing operations later today.

Thank you for your patience and support throughout the incident, especially in the mandatory evacuation areas. When the time comes for repopulation of communities on the north and south zone, we ask everyone to be mindful of traffic on the roadways with the influx of returning residents and fire personnel who will still be working in the area.

For more information there is a daily recorded operational briefing video that will be posted to the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page at 9 a.m.

West Zone: See CAL FIRE Team 4 updates at: www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/18/north-complex-fire/

Evacuations and Road Closures

Orders and Advisories are still in place for communities in Butte, Plumas, and Yuba Counties. Please check your respective county’s websites and Facebook pages for the latest on evacuations and road closures. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.

Weather and Air Quality

Today’s temperatures will be heavily dependent on cloud cover. If we stay mostly sunny, expect conditions a degree or two warmer and if enough clouds develop, expect a degree or two cooler than Sunday. Temperatures will be in the range of 74-78 degrees with winds generally out of the southwest.

Smoke outlook: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/EasternSierra or www.airnow.gov/

Plumas National Forest, forest-wide closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

Current Situation

South Zone:

Firing operations along the Pacific Crest Trail have been completed and night shift will be nearing completion along the dozer line that parallels LaPorte Road. This firing needs to be completed and secured before there is repopulation of Little Grass Valley and the Community of LaPorte.

North Zone:

Ignitions were not favorable for the day shift along Grizzly Big Creek but the night shift will have the conditions to carry out the firing operations. A portion of Red Mountain Road was lit earlier today and firing operations will continue into tonight.

Thank you for your patience and support throughout the incident, especially in the mandatory evacuated areas. The ignitions on the south and north zones need to be completed and entirely secured, which we are expecting within the next 1-2 days, before we can ensure residents can return home without having to leave a second time.

For more information there is a daily recorded operational briefing video that will be posted to the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page at 9 a.m.

West Zone: See CAL FIRE Team 4 updates at: www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/18/north-complex-fire/

Evacuations and Road Closures

Orders and Advisories are still in place for communities in Butte, Plumas, and Yuba Counties. Please check your respective county’s websites and Facebook pages for the latest on evacuations and road closures. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.

Weather and Air Quality

Another chilly night ahead with temperatures ranging from 35-52 degrees, it will be particularly cold in the valleys due to the clear skies and downslope and down valley terrain winds. Humidity should recover well again but not quite as well as previous nights.

Fire

The North Complex Fire grew 1,249 acres and is now 291,200 acres at 62% containment. The fire remained active in a few places yesterday, but crews continued to make progress

increasing containment. Today expect similar fire activity as yesterday due to a moderate risk environment from moderate temperatures and consistent relative humidity.

Smoke

Smoke and air quality conditions yesterday overall were in the good to moderate ranges all day. Today expect worse air quality due to stagnant air due to less wind and very little lifting of smoke. Quincy and Oroville will see worse air quality in the area with Unhealthy ranges. Portola, Grass Valley and

Truckee will see conditions in the USG ranges and all other communities in the Moderate to USG ranges.

H & S

When you see smoke it is usually the large particles like PM10 that you are seeing. While this is not good to breathe in, it is usually filtered by our human body microscopic hairs called cilia that create mucus. It is the small particles of PM2.5 and smaller that our body doesn't filter and when the cilia are overworked and goes directly into our bloodstream. The PM2.5 is what we monitor for during a wildfire smoke event.

Current Situation

South Zone:

The firing operations conducted along Cleghorn Road were successful with desired effects of fuel consumption. There were some spot fires that were detected but they were quickly identified and contained by firefighters. Containment lines continue to hold from Sly Creek Reservoir to Onion Valley as well as along the eastern portion around east Quincy, crews will continue to monitor and patrol these areas.

North Zone:

This morning crews will assess the conditions to determine continuing with firing operations along Grizzly Bear Creek. Resources will also be looking to light approximately 1.5 miles along Red Mountain Road. With the favorable weather, the plan is to use aircraft again to assist ground resources in detecting and containing any new spot fires.

For more information, two daily recorded operational briefing videos are posted to the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

West Zone: See CAL FIRE Team 4 updates at: www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/18/north-complex-fire/

Evacuations and Road Closures

Orders and Advisories are still in place for communities in Butte, Plumas, and Yuba Counties. Please check your respective county’s websites and Facebook pages for the latest on evacuations and road closures. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.

Weather and Air Quality

A warming and drying trend will continue with temperatures moving upwards. Look for relative humidity to dip a bit more again, with the driest spots seeing a minimum RH around 20%. Expect general winds to be from the southwest and light to moderate, meaning terrain will again strongly influence local winds.

Smoke outlook: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/EasternSierra or www.airnow.gov/

Plumas National Forest, forest-wide closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

Current Situation

South Zone:

There were no holding issues with the fire perimeter along the Sly Creek Reservoir to Onion Valley, it will continue to be monitored and patrolled. Priority of resources have begun to shift towards the firing operations along Cleghorn Road, west of LaPorte Road. Day shift resources began ignitions and night shift will continue firing if conditions remain favorable. The eastern portion of the fire continues to hold within containment lines, residual smoke from burning stump holes or heavy logs may be observed within the interior.

North Zone:

With the clearer weather today, aircraft were available to assist ground resources with the few spot fires around Red Mountain Road. The constructed line through Grizzly Big Creek to the south of Grizzly Forebay was tied into previous line from the Bucks Fire back into Oro Quincy Road and the plan is to have night shift conduct ignitions along Grizzly Big Creek. This will secure the eastern portion which will reduce the threat to structures around Bucks Lake, Highlands, Haskins, Meadow Valley and Tollgate.    

West Zone: See CAL FIRE Team 4 updates at: www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/18/north-complex-fire/

Twice daily video operational updates are available to watch on the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page, and once daily Zoom broadcasts of Planning and Cooperator meetings on Inciweb (links above).

Evacuations and Road Closures

Orders and Advisories are still in place for communities in Butte, Plumas, and Yuba Counties. Please check your respective county’s websites and Facebook pages for the latest on evacuations and road closures. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.

Weather and Air Quality

Mostly clear skies and light, terrain-driven winds will make for another chilly night across the area. Look for cold air to pool in the valleys, with temperatures in the mid-30s to around 40 degrees. Higher slopes are expected to stay a bit warmer, with lows closer to 50 degrees.

Smoke outlook: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/EasternSierra or www.airnow.gov/

Plumas National Forest, forest-wide closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

Current information on fire situation in Yuba County foothills
1:00 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19

FIRE HAS JUMPED THE LINE RESIDENTS SHOULD LEAVE EVACUATION AREA:
Evacuations north and east of where New York House Road meets La Porte Road that have been in place for the past several days, and the fire has again begun to move toward that region.  The fire flared up and moved across the fire line, just north of the Yuba County border. Residents who never left the evacuation zone need to leave that area immediately. Additional firefighting resources have been called in to battle the blaze. We will update you as we get more details. 

For more information, please visit the Yuba County Emergency Information Page.

For the most current fire, Evacuation and Road Closure information for Plumas County related to the #NorthComplexFire, click on the Related Information link below. This post supersedes and/or affirms all earlier posts.

Butte County Sheriff’s Office Evacuation Information

Updated 9/19/2020 10:00 am

EVACUATION ORDERS:

• Berry Creek above Simmons Rd, Brush Creek, and Feather Falls communities

EVACUATION WARNINGS

• Highway 162 from Bidwell Bar Bridge to Simmons Rd. Simmons Rd to Big Ridge Rd, including all roads that connect with Simmons Rd. Big Ridge Rd will remain closed.

• Highway 70 from the West Branch bridge north to Pulga Rd. All areas east to the north fork of the Feather River including the community of Yankee Hill and the Big Bend area.

• Area enclosed by Highway 162 from Miner’s Ranch Rd to Forbestown Rd to the Butte County line on the north. Swedes’ Flat Rd on the south. Miner’s Ranch Rd to Swedes’ Flat Rd on the west perimeter. County line on the east perimeter.

• Highway 162 from Forbestown Rd, north to the Bidwell Bar bridge to include both sides of the roadway.

• Areas north of Forbestown road to Lumpkin Rd including Lake Haven Way and Faye Mar Rd., all of Stringtown Rd and connecting roads.

ROAD CLOSURES:

• SR-162 @ SIMMONS RD

• SIMMONS RD @ BIG RIDGE RD

• SR-162 @ BIDWELL BAR BRIDGE

• LUMPKIN ROAD NORTH OF FAYE MAR DR

• SR-70 @ FOUR TREES ROAD

• FORBESTOWN ROAD @ LOWER FORBESTOWN ROAD

• FORBESTOWN ROAD @ WESTAR COURT

This information is updated as soon as practical. For the latest information, check for BCSO “code red” and Facebook/Twitter updates.

Fire
The North Complex Fire grew 2,630 acres and is now 289,951 acres at 58% containment. The fire remained active in a few places yesterday, but crews continued to make progress increasing containment. Today expect a slight increase in fire activity due to a higher risk environment from decrease in relative humidity and warmer temperatures
Smoke
Smoke and air quality conditions yesterday overall where in a the good to moderate ranges except Susanville which saw unhealthy smoke levels. Today expect smoke in the morning with a diurnal wind flow decreasing smoke as the day warms. We will have good air quality for communities west of the fire including Oroville and Grass Valley. Reno area which will continue to see smoke from the Creek and SQF Fires with some improvement in air quality from yesterday changing from USG to moderate today. Smoke from the North Complex will flow mainly in the NE direction and may settle into communities such as Susanville in the late afternoon.
H & S
Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value of 50 or below represents good air quality, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.
https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/

Incident Start Date: 8/17/2020                      Size: 289,951 acres      Containment: 58%    

Engines: 252  Handcrews: 51  Dozers: 86     Helicopters: 24  Water Tenders: 94   Total Personnel: 2,815

Fatalities: 15                                                   Structures Damaged/Destroyed: 1,454

Current Situation

South Zone:

Mop-up and construction of dozer line from Sly Creek Reservoir up to Onion Valley will continue today. An incoming west-southwest wind pattern will test containment lines in east-west oriented drainages along the entire east flank of the fire. Handline built along Fingerboard Ridge west of LaPorte Road is now ready for tactical firing when weather conditions are favorable. The eastern portion of the fire continues to hold within containment lines.

North Zone:

Today priorities will be tying in containment lines between Willow Creek and Red Mountain, and from Red Mountain west across Granite Basin to Four Trees, working to defend nearby communities. Firing operations will start once these indirect containment lines are built to box in the fire’s edge.

From Four Trees down to Big Bend, crews also made great progress in mop up efforts. Today they plan to continue securing any embers that spot over the north side of Oro-Quincy Road.

West Zone: See CAL FIRE Team 4 updates at: www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/18/north-complex-fire/

Twice daily video operational updates are available to watch on the Plumas National Forest Facebook Page, and once daily Zoom broadcasts of Planning and Cooperator meetings on Inciweb (links above).

Evacuations and Road Closures

Orders and Advisories are still in place for communities in Butte, Plumas, and Yuba Counties. Please check your respective county’s websites and Facebook pages for the latest on evacuations and road closures. You can also sign up with your county for reverse 911 notifications by registering with the CODE RED system.

Weather and Air Quality

Winds gradually diminished last night along with lower temperatures and higher humidity. A gradual warming/ drying trend will begin today pushing into next week. High will be 79 degrees and humidity between 23-40%.

Smoke outlook: fires.airfire.org/outlooks/EasternSierra or www.airnow.gov/

Plumas National Forest, forest-wide closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

California Interagency Incident Management Team 4 is implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in both the fire area and surrounding communities.