A two-day-old wildfire has grown to 14,000 acres during a red-flag warning in Lassen County.
The Gold Fire, which started shortly after noon Monday, was listed at 8,500 acres on Tuesday evening and had burned almost 6,000 more acres by 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Lassen-Modoc unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire protection.
It was 5% contained and was threatening 16 structures as well as the Willow Creek Campground, Cal Fire said.
The mandatory evacuation area was expanded Tuesday from one stretch of rural road to a large though sparsely populated swath south of the town of Adin, the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office said. That area, shown in orange on the map above, includes:
- Highway 139 between Susanville Road and Termo Grasshopper Road
- An area bounded by Highway 139, Termo Grasshopper Road, Spooner Road and Ash Valley Road.
- An area bounded by Highway 139, Hayden Hill Road, Anderson Ranch/Dixie Valley Road and Long Flat Road.
Highway 139 is closed from just south of Adin to Termo Grasshopper Road.
The approximate burn area shown in red on the map uses Cal Fire data from Tuesday night as well as MODIS/VIIRS satellite imagery showing the most recent hot spots.
Fifty miles south, the Hog Fire, which started Saturday, continued burning west of Susanville. The update at 7 a.m. Wednesday put its size at 9,420 acres burned, with 9 percent containment and 170 structures threatened. The perimeter on the map above is from earlier Cal Fire data, when it was about 8,000 acres.
The evacuations that were ordered on Sunday remain in effect: Lake Forest Estates, and homes along Highway 36 between Willard Creek Road and Eagle Lake Road. Highways 36 and 44 remain closed west of Susanville.
The evacuation center for both fires is at Lassen Community College in Susanville.
The red-flag warning, indicating heightened fire risk, continues until Wednesday night. The forecast is for hot, windy conditions and possible dry lightning.
