'One Million Things Go Through Your Mind': Nevada County Resident Forced From Home By Rices Fire

NEVADA COUNTY (CBS13) — Another day of tough firefighting unfolded in Nevada County as the Rices Fire approaches the Yuba River. Crews are working to prevent flames from crossing over into Yuba County.

The cause of the Rices Fire was a structure fire that spread to nearby brush. The fire has grown to burn more than 900 acres as of Wednesday night and evacuations remain in place.

"You want to be here for your property, so being told to leave is a hard decision," said Nevada County JT Gross.

Gross lives near the origin of the Rices Fire.

"There's a plume of smoke right by our property," he said.

Gross was told to evacuate on day 1 by Cal Fire as hand crews pulled onto his property to battle the blaze.

"One million things go through your mind. You try to grab as many valuable things as you can," he said.

When he returned home, evidence of the firefight was evident: solar panels and dirt bikes were covered in red retardant that was dropped by fire planes.

But it's not just crews in the sky and firefighters on foot working against the Rices Fire. Louis Lester's been bulldozing fires for 30 years.

"It makes you feel good," Lester said of being able to help. "It makes you feel real good that you can keep structures from going up so people can come back to something. Even if the brush is burned up at least their house is still there."

Though many have been saved, a number of structures have been lost. The toughest part for crews is fighting this fire down in the canyon. Steep access is making it difficult to contain this fire.