Dixie Fire evacuations continue as blaze hits record levels
Aug. 11—As of Tuesday, evacuation orders and warnings in Tehama County remained in place as the Dixie Fire continued to decimate over half a million acres of forestlands, destroying close to 900 structures, burning communities to the ground and reaching historic levels in size.
The fire, which ignited on July 13, is now recorded as the largest wildfire in the state and the estimated containment isn't expected until Aug. 30 reported CalFire. The August Complex Fire from last year burned more acreage, but was a "complex" fire consisting of several lightening-caused blazes, and not a single conflagration from a single source.
Two national forests, Plumas and Lassen, and four counties, Plumas, Butte, Lassen and Tehama have been touched by the roaring blaze, that has caused injuries to three firefighters, but no fatalities to date.
The U.S. Forest Service said the fire is being driven by "fuel moisture at historic lows," drought conditions, low humidity, winds, and high fuel levels, with 25 percent containment and numbers changing by the hour.
Nearly 6,000 personnel are fighting the fire from several agencies led by CalFire and the U.S. Forest Service. 25 percent containment
Effects from the blaze are being felt across the western states due to wind-driven smoke.
The cause of the Dixie Fire remains under investigation, however, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) told regulators in July the fire many have been started when a tree fell into a conductor on top of a pole.
Evacuation orders and warnings in Tehama County have been issued by the incident command team with assistance from the Tehama County Sheriff's Office.
The most recent evacuation orders include area around Wilson Lake, north to the Plumas County Line, south to Highway 36 and east to the Plumas County line. Zones listed as C18 and C19 on the digital evacuation map. All other orders and warnings remain in effect.
Evacuation order and warning in Tehama County:
Evacuation Order for the St. Bernard's Lodge and Elam-Carter Creek areas.
TEH- C18- Evacuation Order for the area of Wilson Lake.
TEH-C19- Evacuation Order for the area to the east of Wilson Lake, to the Tehama/Plumas County line.
TEH-1 D17 — Evacuation Warning for the Wilson Creek and Slate Creek areas.
TEH- C16- Evacuation Warning for the area of Fire Mountain Lodge.
TEH- C17- Evacuation Warning for the area of Childs Meadows/Highlands Resort.
Zone 1- Evacuation Warning to include the area of Colby Creek. The order will begin at the Butte and Tehama County line, west along the Tehama County Line to the intersection with SR32, north along the SR32 corridor to the intersection with SR36, from the intersection with SR32 and SR36, east along SR36 to the intersection with Plumas and Tehama County Line.
Dixie Fire state issued road closures (subject to change daily): — State Route 36 is closed from just east of Morgan Summit to the junction with Highway 44. — State Route 70 is closed from just east of Jarbo Gap (Deadwood Road) to the junction with State Route 89 (Greenville Wye). — State Route 32 is closed from Butte Meadows to the junction with State Route 36. — State Route 89 is closed from approximately 1 mile north of Crescent Mills to the junction with State Route 36. — State Route 89 is closed through Lassen Volcanic National Park, from the junction with State Route 36 to the junction with — State Route 44. — State Route 147 is closed from the junction with State Route 89 to County Road A-21.
Additional updates and information can be found at the following links:
Tehama 211: https://211norcal.org/tehama/
Cal Fire: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/7/14/dixie-fire/
Ready set go: https://www.readyforwildfire.org/
