Dixie Fire in Northern California grows to nearly 60,000 acres

By Web Staff

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    PLUMAS COUNTY, California (KCRA) — A wildfire in Northern California continues to grow after prompting more evacuations this week, officials say.

As of Tuesday morning, the Dixie Fire had burned 59,984 acres and was 15% contained, according to Cal Fire. California has secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to help battle the wildfire affecting Butte and Plumas counties, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced in a Tuesday release.

The fire sparked July 13 north of the Cresta Dam, which is not far from where the 2018 Camp Fire sparked northeast of Paradise and claimed the lives of more than 80 people.

More than 800 structures remained threatened as of Tuesday, according to Cal Fire. Two structures have been destroyed.

Dixie Fire outlook Cal Fire said Tuesday morning that that fire was active overnight and is still moving to the east and north. Isolated thunderstorms are possible Tuesday afternoon and evening.

More evacuation orders were issued Monday evening for residents in the community of Seneca, the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office said.

Sean Norman with Cal Fire said in a mid-morning update Tuesday that the fire has pushed out across the north fork of the Feather River near Caribou in Plumas County.

“We expect to have another difficult day on the fire but we’ll pick up some successes as well,” he said.

Tony Brownell, an operations chief with Cal Fire, said Monday that there were concerns about the fire heading to the community of Jonesville. The fire is not, however, moving toward Paradise and Magalia — communities affected by the deadly 2018 Camp Fire.

Despite the active northern end of the fire, crews are mopping up in the lower half, Brownell said.

A meteorologist with Cal Fire said the fire at some point generated a thunderstorm above itself.

Drones are also becoming a problem in the effort toward containing the fire. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said during a Monday evening briefing that at least two drones have been spotted in the air since the fire started. Honea said when drones are in the air, all aircraft must be grounded, and it takes at least 30 minutes to clear them to launch back up.

Honea noted that flying drones during a wildfire is against the law and is punishable with 12 months in jail and a $20,000 fine.

Dixie Fire evacuation information Orders High Lakes: Recreational area of Plumas County east of the Butte/Plumas County line Plumas/Butte County line Plumas/Butte County Line east to Twain: Includes both sides of Hwy. 70 near Rock Creek, Storrie, Tobin, Belden, Caribou Rich Bar and Twain Meadow Valley & Bucks Lake: Bucks Lake Road at Riverdance and everything west to the Butte/Plumas county line. This includes Snake Lake, Meadow Valley, Tollgate, Bucks Lake, Bucks Lake Highlands and all surrounding areas From Twain east to Paxton and the Greenvile Wye Caribou Road north to the Humbug Road and Humboldt Road intersection: This includes Belden Reservoir and Butt Valley Reservoir Prattville Butt Reservoir Road and everything west to the Butte/Plumas county line The community of Seneca in Plumas County Philbrook in Butte County Jonesville in Butte County Road closures State Highway 70 at Deadwood Bucks Lake Road at Plains Road

Shelter information Butte County Evacuation Center Church of the Nazarene, located on 2238 Monte Vista Ave. Plumas County Call 530-283-6300 if you need shelter after evacuating.

PG&E equipment may be involved in Dixie Fire start Pacific Gas & Electric reported to California utility regulators that its equipment may have been involved in the start of the Dixie Fire.

The utility said in a filing Sunday that a repair person responding to a circuit outage July 13 spotted blown fuses in a conductor atop a pole, a tree leaning into the conductor and fire at the base of the tree.

PG&E equipment has repeatedly been linked to major wildfires, including a 2018 fire that ravaged the town of Paradise and killed 85 people.

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