Fire activity increases Sunday: Dixie Fire burns 489,287 acres, 21 percent contained
Crews made good progress securing lines around the area south of Westwood, according to the Sunday evening Dixie Fire update, but fire behavior increased in the east zone as the smoke inversion lifted.
As of the evening update, 489,287 acres have burned and the wildfire remains at 21 percent containment.
Due to the blaze, there are 400 structures and 227 other minor structures destroyed, 27 sturcutures and 15 minor structures sustained damage. About 13,871 structures remained threatened.
Earlier Sunday, the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office issued new evacuation warnings for the Janesville area west of Highway 395. All other warnings and orders remain in place.
According to Operations Section Chief Jake Cagle, there was growth in China Gulch near Lone Rock, the site of the Friday 70 acre spot, and a mandatory evacuation was order for the Antelope Lake area.
Tomorrow, Cagle elaborated in the evening video update, crews are going to work on building a contingency line on the 8 mile stretch between the the Walker Fire and Sheep Fire burn scars.
Resources are also being plugged in the Janesville area, “Just to prep. We’re still quite a ways from Janesville here. We do expect the weather to be a little bit of a repeat of today, so I’m not taking out that potential for Janesville, but we still have quite a bit of ways to go here. As you guys have all seen, this extreme fire behavior, all we can do is it get out in font of this thing and connect the dots,” Cagle said.
Dixie Fire East Zone – Fire behavior increased due to the lifting of the smoke inversion, warming temperatures, and low relative humidity that is forecasted to have a poor to moderate recovery overnight. More aggressive fire behavior and movement occurred in the area between the Walker and Sheep fire scars and fire managers are shifting personnel to this area. Firefighters continued to make progress in securing lines in the area south of Westwood.
Dixie Fire West Zone – Fire activity increased today due to low relative humidity and strong southwest winds. Drought conditions are extreme in the region. Fire crews continue to construct and reinforce control lines. Damage Inspection teams will continue their assessments of critical infrastructure and key resources. Evacuation Warnings and Mandatory Evacuation Orders are constantly changing, please see below for information affecting your county.