Tonight's Fire Update :
Critical fire weather produced extreme fire behavior on the Chips Fire's north and northeast flanks, and posed a challenging day for firefighters. The fire made a major run out of Mosquito Creek towards Butt Valley Reservoir and spotted across the Feather River onto Red Hill.
The Plumas County Sheriff's Office issued mandatory evacuations for the communities of Rush Creek and Seneca. Additional evacuations may be necessary depending on fire activity.
PG&E transmission lines where shut down to allow for the use of heavy air tankers. Power outages impacted the surrounding communities in Lake Almanor region including portions of Quincy, Chester and Susanville.
The Incident Command Post was relocated from East Quincy to the Lake Almanor recreation area to provide better support to firefighters working in the vicinity.
Fire Behavior and Smoke:
With warm night time temperatures and poor humidity recovery the fire is expected to remain active tonight. Down canyon winds are expected to push smoke south of the fire area into the Sacramento Valley. Due to several days of above normal temperatures and critically dry conditions, a red flag warning has been issued for tomorrow, from 1 pm until 9:00pm Saturday.
Current Situation
| Total Personnel | 965 |
|---|---|
| Size | 27,000 acres |
| Percent Contained | 7% |
| Estimated Containment Date | Friday August 31st, 2012 approx. 12:00 AM |
| Fuels Involved | 10 Timber (litter and understory) low brush with numerous dead and down large, 1000 hour logs and standing snags. |
| Fire Behavior | Active fire behavior was observed with uphill runs based on slope and wind alignment. The fire is currently spotting over 1 mile. The north, northeast and east flanks are actively burning with rapid rates of spread. |
| Significant Events | Very active fire behavior was observed today. Crews aggressively attacked multiple spot fires on the east side of Caribou Road. PG&E de-energized a distribution line servicing the Red Hill communication site. Resources are assessing alternate locations for containment lines north of private lands in the Humbug Valley area. Cal Trans continues to clear debris from roll-out on Highway 70. Mandatory evacuations were issued by the Sheriff's Office for Rush Creek and Seneca. Gansner Bar, North Fork and Queen Lily campgrounds and USFS road 27N76 remain closed. The Little Grizzly dispersed camping area and High Lake OHV Area are closed. The communities of Belden, Little Haven and Maggie's Trailer Park are on a precautionary evacuation notice. A voluntary evacuation notice has been issued for the Rush Creek area and the area south of Highway 89 that includes Butt Valley Reservoir and Humbug Reservoir. Residents along Highway 70 from Tobin to Twain are encouraged to begin developing evacuation plans. A one mile, one lane traffic closure remains in effect on Highway 70. Motorists should use caution on Hwy 70 in the fire area. Expect delays and traffic controls. Portions of the Pacific Crest, Yellow Creek, Ben Lomond, and Indian Creek hiking trails remain closed. |
Source: http://inciweb.org/incident/3052/
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