Claremont and Bear – Evening Update

Acres: 11,885

Resources:  15 dozers, 36 engines, 2 hand crews, 2 helicopters, and 12 water tenders. Additional resources are on order, availability remains scarce.

Current Situation on the Claremont: Despite firefighters’ efforts to keep the fire from crossing the Highway 70 corridor today, winds and spotting resulted in a breach this afternoon with a 5-acre spot fire near the Massack Rest Area. This necessitated Highway 70 to be CLOSED between Spring Garden and La Porte Road. There was no estimated time of reopening at the time of this release. No structure have been reported lost. The Claremont Fire, now at 11,310 acres, is located south of Quincy, CA and north of the Middle Fork of the Feather River.

Current Situation on the Bear:

The Bear Fire increased in fire activity this afternoon, but a size update is not available at this time. It was last reported at 575 acres. The Bear is located on the Pacific Crest Trail, 1-mile northwest of Butte Bar Campground and 1.5 southeast of Lookout Rock. It is in very steep and inaccessible terrain.

Weather: A new thunderstorm system is expected to bring dry lightning and gusty winds starting Sunday morning. The storm is expected to last several days, elevating fire danger, and has prompted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for the fire area.

Air Quality: Smoke, including thicker particulate matter from active fires across northeast California, will continue to affect the area through Sunday morning. Expect visibility below 3 miles with unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups and those spending a prolonged period of time outdoors. For a fire and smoke map, go to https://fire.airnow.gov/

Closures/Evacuations: Highway 70 is CLOSED between Spring Garden and Quincy La Porte Road.

There is an ADVISORY Evacuation Order for East Quincy (south of Lee Road from Radio Hill Road East), Candler Road (from HWY 70 east entrance to Hillside Drive), Greenhorn Ranch, and Spring Garden.

Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for East Quincy, south of Highway 70 between Millcreek east to Quincy La Porte Road, as well as Quincy La Porte Road from Highway 70 south to Red Bridge (Middle Fork of the Feather River)

An evacuation center for all residents (East Quincy, Greenhorn, Massack and Spring Garden) has been set up at Quincy High School. No small animals are able to be accommodated at the High School. The Red Cross is currently working to assist us in establishing a secondary evacuation center.

Road Closure: La Porte Road and Thompson Creek Road remain closed. The Pacific Crest Trail from Onion Valley to Bucks Summit remains closed. For further information on closures go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

For immediate text notifications sign up for the Plumas County’s CodeRed Emergency Alert System on their website at https://www.plumascounty.us/2163/. Evacuation questions should be directed to your County Sheriff's office non-emergency number. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office: (530) 283-6375.

COVID-19: California Interagency Incident Management Team 1 has implemented precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in both fire camp and the surrounding communities.

Claremont and Bear – Morning Update

Acres: 11,310

Resources:  15 dozers, 36 engines, 2 hand crews, 2 helicopters, and 12 water tenders.  Additional resources are on order, availability remains scarce.

Current Situation on the Claremont: The Claremont Fire, located south of Quincy, CA and north of the Middle Fork of the Feather River, continues to spread east towards the Highway 70 corridor, but fire crews worked through the night last night to hold the fire to the west side of the highway. Active structure protection took place last night in East Quincy, where 30 engines and other heavy equipment worked to slow spread and limit structure loss. Firefighting objectives for crews today are to keep the fire from crossing the Highway 70 corridor. The team is working to secure additional resources from other contained fires in the region.

Current Situation on the Bear: The Bear Fire, burning approximately 4 miles from Bucks Lake and 6 miles from Meadow Valley, experienced increased fire behavior and grew in all directions yesterday, further establishing itself in the Bear Creek Drainage, north of the Middle Fork. The fire is approximately 575 acres. The Bear is located on the Pacific Crest Trail, 1 mile northwest of Butte Bar Campground and 1.5 southeast of Lookout Rock. It is in very steep and inaccessible terrain. The increase in smoke in the area yesterday was a result of the Bear.

Weather: Dry conditions are expected to continue over the region today, with gusty winds possible this afternoon into early evening. Humidity is expected to start picking up along with cooler temperatures providing some relief. Smoke and widespread air quality impacts from the wildfires remains the primary weather concern into Sunday. There is a possiblity of dry lightning in the eastern Sierra and western Nevada fromSunday night into early next week.

Air Quality: Widespread smoke before 11 pm and widespread haze thereafter. Smoke will be thick in valleys and canyons immediately north and east of the fires. For a fire and smoke map, go to https://fire.airnow.gov/

Closures/Evacuations: There is an ADVISORY Evacuation Order for Greenhorn Ranch, Massack, and Spring Garden, and Hwy 70 between La Porte Road/Chandler Road to Spring Garden/Greenhorn.

Mandatory evacuations are in place for East Quincy, including: residents in the East Quincy area south of Highway 70, east of Mill Creek (Mill Creek Road and Forest View) extending east and including Quincy - La Porte Road. An evacuation center for all residents (East Quincy, Greenhorn, Massack and Spring Garden) has been set up at Quincy High School. No small animals are able to be accommodated at the High School. The Red Cross is currently working to assist us in establishing a secondary evacuation center.

Road Closure: La Porte Road and Thompson Creek Road remain closed. The Pacific Crest Trail from Onion Valley to Bucks Summit remains closed. For further information on closures go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

For immediate text notifications sign up for the Plumas County’s CodeRed Emergency Alert System on their website at https://www.plumascounty.us/2163/. Evacuation questions should be directed to your County Sheriff's office non-emergency number. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office: (530) 283-6375.

COVID-19: California Interagency Incident Management Team 1 has implemented precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in both fire camp and the surrounding communities.

Smoke Outlook 8-22-2020

Weather:  Lows tonight are expected to range between 44 and 61 degrees. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming light and variable.

Air Quality: Widespread smoke before 11 pm and widespread haze thereafter. Smoke will be thick in valleys and canyons immediately north and east of the fires. For a fire and smoke map, go to https://fire.airnow.gov/

Closures/Evacuations:

Due to the Claremont Fire there is an ADVISORY Evacuation Order for Greenhorn Ranch, Massack, and Spring Garden, as well as Hwy 70 between La Porte Road/Chandler Road to Spring Garden/Greenhorn.

The MANDATORY evacuation for East Quincy remains in effect. This includes all residents in the East Quincy area south of Highway 70, east of Mill Creek (to include Mill Creek Road and Forest View) extending east and including Quincy - La Porte Road.

An evacuation center for all resients (East Quincy, Greenhorn, Massack and Spring Garden) has been set up at Quincy High School. No small animals are able to be accommodated at the High School. The Red Cross is currently working to assist us in establishing a secondary evacuation center.

For immediate text notifications about emergency alerts, residents can sign up for the Plumas County’s CodeRed Emergency Alert System on their website at https://www.plumascounty.us/2163/. Evacuation questions should be directed to your County Sheriff's office non-emergency number. Plumas County Sheriff’s Office: (530) 283-6375

La Porte Road and Thompson Creek Road remain closed. The Pacific Crest Trail from Onion Valley to Bucks Summit remains closed. For further information on closures go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

COVID-19: California Interagency Incident Management Team 1 has implemented precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in both fire camp and the surrounding communities. These measures include daily temperature screenings, mandatory use of face coverings, social distancing, implementing more virtual work, and smaller fire camps. Community and firefighter safety are a top priority of both Team 1 and the National Forests. Please help protect our firefighters.

The USDA is an equal opportunity provide, employer, and lender.

To learn more about wildfire preparedness visit:

www.readyforwildfire.org

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NORTH COMPLEX VIRTUAL COMMUNITY MEETING

August 21, 2020 at 5:00 PM

This Meeting will be held on ZOOM - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84774724162

Dial by your location: +1 669 900 9128 - Meeting ID: 847 7472 4162

A recording of the Meeting will be posted to www.facebook.com/USFSPlumas

SHEEP FIRE COMMUNITY MEETING

August 22, 2020 at 11:00 AM

Community Church

1400 Numa Road

Susanville, CA

Attendees will be required to wear masks

CLAREMONT FIRE STATUS

Incident Start Time:  9:00 AM

Incident Type: Wildland Fire

Cause: Lightning

Containment:  0%

CURRENT SITUATION

Quincy, Calif. — The Claremont Fire continued to spread towards the west side of Quincy-La Porte Road yesterday with a few spots on the other side of road, but crews were able to get to those spots and hold the fire to the west side. Active structure protection took place last night in East Quincy where 30 engines and other heavy equipment were battling blazes.

Fire fighting objectives for crews today are centered around steering the fire away from town and the Highway 70 corridor and pushing it back. The team is working to secure additional resources deploying from other contained fires in the region. This will include hand crews, dozers, and engines.

The MANDATORY evacuation order for this fire was updated to include all residents in the east Quincy area south of Highway 70 east of Mill Creek (to include Mill Creek Road and Forest View) extending east to Quincy La Porte Road. Evacuations were completed by law enforcement conducting door-to-door evacuations.

An evacuation center was set up at the Quincy High School. No small animals are able to be accommodated at the High School. The Red Cross is currently working to assist us in establishing a secondary evacuation center.

For immediate text notifications about emergency alerts, residents can sign up for the Plumas County’s CodeRed Emergency

Alert System on their website at https://www.plumascounty.us/587/Sheriff-Coroner. Evacuation questions should be directed

to the your County Sheriff's office non-emergency number Plumas County Sheriff’s Office: (530) 283-6375

The Bear Fire, approximately 4 miles from the community of Buck Lake and 6 miles from Meadow Valley grew from 50 to 250

acres.

The Claremont Fire is located south of Quincy, CA - south of Highway 70, west of Quincy-La Porte Road, and north of the Middle Fork Feather River.

The Bear Fire is located on the Pacific Crest Trail, ¾ miles north of Carpenter Bar (Middle Fork Feather River), approx. 5 miles southeast of Bucks Lake, approx. 2 miles east of Mt. Ararat. The fire grew to 250 acres yesterday but has not crossed the Middle Fork Feather River. It is in very steep and inexcessible terrain.

Weather: Dry conditions are expected to continue over the region today with gusty winds possible this afternoon into early evening. Humidity is expected to start picking up along with cooler temperatures providing some relief. Smoke and widespread air quality impacts from the wildfires remains the primary weather concern into Saturday. Thunderstorm chances return to the eastern Sierra and western Nevada by Sunday and continue into early next week. For more information about the air quality in your area please visit https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/

Links to other fires in the North Complex:

Claremont Fire - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6996/

Bear Fire - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7025/

Sheep Fire - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6997/

Forest Closures: For further information go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

The USDA is an equal opportunity provide, employer, and lender.

BEAR FIRE STATUS

CLAREMONT FIRE STATUS

Incident Start Time:  9:00 AM

Cause: Lightning

Acreage: 3,101 acres

Containment:  0%

CURRENT SITUATION

Quincy, Calif. — The Claremont Fire is about 4 miles from the town of Quincy. It continued to spread east today and crossed La Porte Road where it affected about 20 homes. Crews attempted to suppress spot fires and protect residences and other structures throughout the day. Active structure protection was taking place this evening in East Quincy where 30 engines and other heavy equipment were battling blazes.

Mandatory evacuations and advisory notices continued today out of an abundance of caution for the safety of residents potentially in line of the spreading Claremont Fire. Mandatory evacuations now includes Quincy La Porte Road from Red Bridge to Highway 70. As a result, Quincy La Porte Road remains closed at the intersection with Highway 70 to non-essential traffic. An evacuation advisory was issued for East Quincy on both sides of Highway 70 East of Radio Hill Road to the south of Lee Road. Highway 70 from Quincy La Porte Road to Highway 70 at Lee Summit is now a part of the evacuation advisory. This includes residents on both sides of Highway 70 between the above-mentioned locations, Spring Garden, and the Massack area.

For immediate text notifications about emergency alerts, residents can sign up for th­­­­e Plumas County’s CodeRed Emergency Alert System on their website at https://www.plumascounty.us/587/Sheriff-Coroner. Evacuation questions should be directed to the your County Sheriff's office non-emergency number Plumas County Sheriff’s Office: (530) 283-6375

Crews will continue to be active overnight protecting structures, building line, and treating spot fires.

Weather: The Red Flag Warning expired at 9 a.m. today. Smoke and widespread air quality impacts from the California wildfires remains the primary weather concern into Saturday. Thunderstorm chances return to the eastern Sierra and western Nevada by Sunday and continue into early next week. For more information about the air quality in your area please visit https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/

Links to other fires in the North Complex:

Claremont Fire - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6996/

Bear Fire - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7025/

Sheep Fire - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6997/

Forest Closures: For further information go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/plumas/alerts-notices

The USDA is an equal opportunity provide, employer, and lender.

To learn more about wildfire preparedness visit:

www.readyforwildfire.org

UPDATED EVACUATION INFORMATION for the #NorthComplex.

Per the Plumas County Sheriff's Office:

Due to the #ClaremontFire the MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER now includes Quincy La Porte from Red Bridge to Highway 70. 
An EVACUATION ADVISORY has been issued for East Quincy on both sides of Highway 70 East of Radio Hill Road and south of Lee Road.
 
EVACUATION CENTER:
Quincy High School
6 Quincy Junction Rd.
Quincy, CA 95971.  

The Pacific Crest Trail is closed between Onion Valley and Bucks Summit. The Thompson Creek Road (24N26) is also closed due to fire vehicle traffic. Red Bridge Campground is closed to camping and swimming. 

Wood Lake Fire

Final Update

August 24th, 2020

Fire Information Line: (406) 750-8934

Public Inquiry Email: duane.buchi@usda.gov

Type IV Incident Commander:  Alex Brooks

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HLCNF/  | Inciweb - https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6995/

The Wood Lake Fire was reported by the Prairie Reef lookout at 10am on Monday, August 17th with an estimated size of 3 acres. By 6 p.m. the same day its growth was estimated at 50 acres with active fire behavior and spotting a quarter of a mile ahead of the fire front. The fire is in steep, rugged terrain on the upper third of a north-facing slope. Crews constructed containment line to reinforce the retardant drops where the file had potential to advance toward Benchmark road.  The other portions of the fire burned into scabby timber and rock and the fire lost momentum to move.   Since containment line cannot be built within the rock, the 30% containment status will remain indefinitely.  On 8/23, the fire was transferred back to a type-IV incident commander, and most of the resources assigned to the fire were demobilized on 8/23 & 8/24.  Rocky Mountain Ranger District personnel will continue to patrol and mop up until seasonal weather terminates this fire.

Size:  Approximately 87 acres             Containment:  30%                                         Cause:  Lightning

Structures threatened:  0                   Location:  21 miles southwest of Augusta      Structures destroyed:  0

Fire Crews:  Lewis and Clark Wildland Fire Module

Air Support: Type-3 Helicopter

Engines: 1

Total Personnel: 14

Yesterday’s Operations: Fire activity throughout the day was minimal with some creeping and smoldering and a rare smoke in the areas where the fire burned into steep, rocky terrain.  No smoke was detected outside of the containment line.  Both the type-1 and type-3 helicopter were on hand to deliver water drops as needed.  The Lewis and Clark Interagency Hotshots were demobilized and the Lewis and Clark Wildland Fire Module will remain spike camped at the fire to monitor and mop up as needed.  Hose lays remain in place among the treatment units of the Benchmark Fuel Reduction project areas of Double Falls and Whitewater.  Please note, although the Aspen area was mentioned numerous times in previous updates, the Whitewater area was the second area besides Double Falls that had hose lays installed, not the Aspen area. 

Today’s Operations:  The Helena Interagency Hotshots, type 1 helicopter, and one engine were demobilized.  The local wildland fire module is on hand to monitor for hotspots and conduct mop us as necessary.  The remaining engine crew will patrol and is available to operate the in-place hose lays among the fuel treatment units of Double Falls and Whitewater.    

Evacuations and Closures:  Wood Lake, Wood Lake campground, Wood Lake picnic area, and the Petty-Crown Trailhead and associated loop trail remain closed to allow helicopters to safely retrieve water from Wood Lake. In addition, all dispersed camping is closed from the Forest boundary along Benchmark Road to Wood Lake.  However, Benchmark Road remains open for through traffic. Motorists are reminded not to stop in the fire vicinity as it creates a safety hazard to fire personnel and the public.

Weather & Fuel Conditions:  Today temperatures will reach the mid 80s in the fire area and temperatures are expected to be hot and dry through most of this week.  Winds are forecast to reach 10–15 mph this afternoon.  Monday evening into Tuesday will bring an increased chance for isolated thunderstorms.  By this weekend, a widespread cooling trend is expected.  Smoke conditions from the California fires will continue to have a slight impact along the Rocky Mountain Front and air quality is currently listed as MODERATE.  Keep track of hourly concentrations at TodaysAir.mt.gov.

Temporary Flight Restrictions:  All flight restrictions are lifted.

Physical information availability:  Fire information boards will be posted daily at the Augusta Information Station, and the Choteau Ranger District Office.

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