Monday afternoon thunderstorms with abundant lightning were over the Plumas National Forest for the second day in a row. There were areas of heavy rain with today’s storms.
The Forest is scheduled for a reconnaissance flight tomorrow to help find new lightning fires.
This afternoon firefighters continued working on containing several fires discovered yesterday and today.
On the Mount Hough Ranger District:
- Red Bridge Fire – single tree lightning strike near La Porte Road is in patrol status.
- Highlands Fire – located south of Bucks Lake at Bucks Highlands, controlled this afternoon at half an acre and is in patrol status.
- Wolf Fire – located south of California State Highway 89 and northwest of Greenville, controlled this afternoon at one tenth of an acre and is in patrol status. Heavy rain and hail were reported over the area late this afternoon.
Feather River Ranger District and the Feather Complex:
- Table Fire – located near La Porte Road is controlled at one tenth of an acre and is in patrol status.
- Letter Fire – located in the 2020 North Complex burn scar near Grizzly Forebay in heavy snags. Fire is approximately 11.1 acres, fully lined and 50 percent contained. It is burning in heavy dead and down fuels, with a focus on firefighter safety due to fuels and snags. Smoke may be visible from California State Highway 70 and the Bucks Lake area. Area residents and visitors should watch for increased firefighting traffic accessing the fire from Oro-Quincy Highway.
- Poverty – located near Poverty Hill south of La Porte, is estimated to be approximately 1.35 acres and is contained.
- American 2 – located near American House. Name changed to American 2 due to an early season fire also named American. Approximately 2.6 acres.
Firefighters will remain on scene overnight or start early tomorrow morning, depending on conditions.
There are no evacuations or structures threatened at this time, with most of the fires burning in remote areas.
There is a slight chance of thunderstorms in the area tomorrow ahead of a drying trend with cooling temperatures and periods of gusty winds midweek.
Holdover lightning fires can smolder for days and even weeks following a thunderstorm. After a wet thunderstorm like last night and today, it can take several days of dry and warm weather for these fires to become visible.
Firefighters will continue to monitor conditions and respond to lightning fires as they are discovered in the coming days.
“The Forest took a lot of lightning this afternoon and we are expecting more lightning fires and challenging conditions over the next couple weeks,” said Plumas National Forest Fire Management Officer Martin Senter. “Firefighters have done a tremendous job responding to these fires and getting them contained and controlled.”
Area residents and visitors are asked to be careful with anything that can spark a wildfire and to help prevent additional fires. The public can also report suspected wildfires by calling 911.
For more information on the Plumas National Forest, visit www.fs.usda.gov/plumas or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/USFSPlumas.
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