Crew bosses on the Rush Fire met for an early Tuesday morning meeting at the incident base set up at the Lassen County Fairgrounds and were advised high winds are expected from 1 to 9 p.m. with gusts up to 35 miles per hour. The humidity willbe 5 percent this afternoon.

According to a safety officer who spoke at the meeting,the low humidityand strong winds will preheat the fuels out front.

He said of the fire, “The thing is not be out in front of this thing when it starts to move.”

Crew bosses were cautioned to not get too far ahead and to create safety zones from the fuels. In addition, they were told to disengage early, which Sharon Sweeney, public information officer for the Northern Rockies Management Team I, explained isgetting the firefighters out of harm’s way and allowing the fire to run its course.

After the meeting, the crew bosses met with the division leaders. In the fire camp, firefighters were eating breakfast, packing up gear and grabbing sack lunches before heading out to the fire.

The lightning caused blazestarted Sunday, Aug. 12. It hasburned 285,188 acres and is 50 percent contained.

Fire activity increased yesterday when the predicted southwest winds spread the fire north of Buck Horn Road.Night crews worked to stop as much of the spread as possible and those efforts will continue today.

Crews will also continue to mop-up heat sources 300 feet and deeper into the perimeter.

Incident Commander Doug Turman left those in attendance with four words, slow and steady, safe and secure and said today is a day to adhere to those four words.

Due to the extreme fire danger, BLM has suspended the use of chainsaws on public lands in northeastern California and northwest Nevada.

Public land closures remain in effect. On August 17, the BLM issued a closure order for public lands in the fire area to protect public health and safety.Highway 395 on the west, the Sand Pass Road on the east and the Wendel Road on the south bound the closed area.

The new northern boundary for the public land closure is the Juniper Ridge, Tuledad, Stage Road, Marr Road and Buckhorn Road extending to Nevada Highway 447 in Washoe County.

Routes closed within this closure area include the Ramhorn Springs, Rye Patch Road, Buckhorn, Shinn Ranch, Stoney, Deep Cut, Smoke Creek, Skedaddle Ranch, Dry Valley and Brubeck roads. The Ramhorn Springs Campground and the Dodge Reservoir Campground also is closed.

Travelers along the Highway 395 corridor should use caution where fire crews and equipment are working in the fire area.