Evacuations underway as 4 suspected lightning-sparked fires burn in Plumas County
PLUMAS COUNTY – Evacuation orders and warnings are in place Monday evening as crews battle four suspected lightning-sparked fires in the Plumas National Forest on Monday.
Three of the first are near Whitehawk Ranch, with the Mill Fire being the largest. The Smith Fire is burning north of Highway 70.
The size of all fires is unknown at this point.
Evacuations
Evacuation orders are in place for PLU-095, PLU-098, PLU-11, PLU-112 and PLU-007, PLU-113, PU-096, PLU-093 and PLU-074. This is north of Highway 89, Whitehawk, south of Portola, northwest of Portola, Lake Davis, and south of County Road A15, including portions of Nakoma, and Gold Mountain.
Residents are urged to evacuate west to Quincy High School.
An evacuation warning was issued for PLU-100, PLU-112, PLU-094, PLU-076, POR-001, POR-006, PLU-099 and POR-044.
All evacuations in Plumas County can also be found on ZoneHaven.
The fires are burning near neighboring Sierra County. As of 5 p.m., no evacuations are in place in Sierra County and the sheriff's office said it's communicating with Plumas County officials.
Forest officials said the four fires have the potential to grow due to wind, slope and ongoing dry conditions.
Lightning activity
CBS13 Chief Meterololigst Nic Merianos caught a lightning strike followed by a smoke plume on radar at about 2:30 p.m. Merianos said the storm produced up to 2.5 inches of rain just east of Whitehawk and triggered a Flash Flood Warning through 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Road closures
Caltrans has closed Highway 89 at Calpine Road.
