Overview
- The wildfire was reported Saturday near Highway 49 north of Loyalton and has grown to about 6,436 acres with incident-wide containment reported at roughly 5%.
- An evacuation order for Lassen County Zone LAS-451-A remains in effect and evacuation warnings cover additional zones in Plumas and Lassen counties as officials urge residents to prepare to leave.
- About 430 personnel are fighting the blaze using ground crews, bulldozers and aircraft that are conducting water and retardant drops, with operations constrained after an unauthorized drone temporarily grounded aerial attacks.
- Smoke from the fire has drifted into northern Nevada, including visible haze over Reno, and the National Weather Service warned of degraded air quality along the US-395 corridor.
- Firefighters say ridgetop winds, very dry fuels and steep, rocky terrain are driving rapid spread through prior burn scars and forecasts showing monsoon moisture and thunderstorms could either help tamp fire growth or bring lightning and flooding risks.