Shelter, Lassen Rural Bus help Plumas County evacuees as Dixie Fire threatens neighboring communities
As the Dixie Fire continues to grow in Plumas County, Lassen County departments and agencies responded to the call to help evacuating neighbors.
A shelter for Plumas County evacuees was set up at Lassen Community College Monday, and when the mandatory evacuation came for the whole town of Chester Tuesday, Lassen Rural Bus helped transport residents.
“At 4:37 p.m. Lassen Rural Bus was notified by Plumas County OES of services requested for evacuation of the residents of Chester and surrounding area. Lassen Rural Bus was able to respond with six buses, with a combined seating of 166 seats. Lassen Rural Bus is grateful for the opportunity to be of assistants to our community neighbors, friends and family. Our hopes and wishes are with all who have suffered during this tribulation,” the agency shared.
By Wednesday morning, Aug. 4, the Dixie Fire has burned 274,139 acres this morning and is 35 percent contained. It has destroyed 45 structures and 22 outbuildings and 12,182 structures are threatened.
This is the brief update that was provided this morning (For Plumas County residents, the West Zone is responsible for the Chester/Lake Almanor Basin with an assist from the East Zone while the East Zone covers the rest of the county):
West Zone
Fire continues to move toward control lines burning unburned interior islands and ridges. Steep terrain, heavy fuel loading, and wind in alignment with canyons is making control difficult. Fire activity continued into the evening hours following local winds and topography with active uphill runs, flanking, and single tree torching. Hot conditions will persist this afternoon across the fire area. Winds are beginning to respond with southerly and westerly winds becoming more prevalent gusting up to 20 mph. Afternoon humidity will continue to plummet into the teens across many locations. Crews continue to fight fire aggressively, construct and reinforce control lines, and protect structures. Mop up efforts have begun where appropriate.
East Zone
The fire grew north with active burning due to Red Flag weather conditions yesterday afternoon. No additional structure damage has been reported. Mandatory evacuation orders have been updated to include areas north of Greenville and Lake Almanor. Overnight poor relative humidity recovery and dry conditions contributed to fire activity while crews monitored and patrolled the fire perimeter. Today hot, dry and windy conditions are predicted with a Red Flag warning in effect at 1 pm until Thursday at 8 pm. Active fire behavior is expected with strong, gusty winds. Today crews are building direct, indirect and contingency lines where the fire is active. Firefighters will be mopping up and patrolling the rest of the perimeter of the east zone diligently checking for fire movement.
