Northern California fire crews kept busy during first red flag warning of 2024
(FOX40.COM) — Northern California’s first red flag warning of 2024 was not as uneventful as many may have wished as small spot fires and fires burning over 1,000 acres popped up across the region.
In the Sacramento Valley, fires burned more than a thousand acres from Sacramento County to Butte County.
Continued strong wings and low daytime humidity conditions have caused the National Weather Service to extend the red flag warning through 8 a.m. Tuesday and further south into much of the San Joaquin Valley.
Sacramento County Fires
Excelsior Fire
The Excelsior Fire was the headline burn for those living in Sacramento County as the nearly 900-acre fire was brought to full containment on Monday morning after threatening several homes.
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After being detected on Sunday afternoon, the Excelsior Fire had already burned some 800 acres and was posing a threat to nearby homes.
Evacuation orders and road closures were issued for those within a mile of the fire. All orders and closures were lifted on Monday after full containment was achieved.
Butte County Fires
Junes Fire
The largest fire reported in the Sacramento Valley was the Junes Fire in southern Butte County which was brought under full containment just after midnight on Sunday after burning 1,056 acres.
The fire was spotted around 3 p.m. on Saturday in southern Butte County, between the communities of Palermo and Honcut.
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Early reports had the fire at 20 acres with air resources requested from McClellan as multiple structures were threatened by the fire.
Within minutes of the fire being reported, it had doubled in size and had come in contact with two structures. At this time evacuation warnings were issued as the fire continued to spread at a dangerous rate.
As fire crews hit the two-hour mark of trying to gain containment of the Junes Fire it had jumped to 750 acres. Crews continued to battle the flames throughout the night and were able to build containment.
After gaining control of the fire as it peaked at over 1,000 acres burned, ground crews continued cutting containment lines and addressing hot spots.
Rocky Fire
As crews were attacking the Junes Fire in southern Butte County a second wildland fire popped up west of Lake Oroville near the Craig Recreation Area.
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Air crews initially mapped the fire at three to five acres and were able to gain full containment of the fire as it reached 18 acres within a few hours.
Placer County and Nevada County Fires
While Placer County did see the largest California wildfire in 2023, this first weekend under a red flag warning saw some potentially critical fires be knocked out quickly.
On Saturday, the CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit responded to a vegetation fire in the steep and challenging terrain of the Auburn State Recreation Area.
The fire was spotted on the hillside near the Auburn side of the Foresthill Bridge and fire crews quickly gained control of the fire as it nearly reached two acres.
Along with CAL FIRE NEU crews, the Auburn City Fire Department and the Growlersburg hand crew with CAL FIRE Amador-El Dorado Unit assisted in taking out the fire.
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The following morning around 5:45 a.m., a Nevada County resident spotted a vegetation fire burning at the base of the Sugar Loaf Mountain Open Space.
Once again crews with CAL FIRE NEU, Nevada County Consolidated Fire District and the Grass Valley Fire Department responded to the steep forested hillsides of the foothills.
Fire crews were able to quickly cut perimeter lines and held the fire to .12 acres.
El Dorado County Fires
Quartz Fire
On Sunday afternoon, CAL FIRE AEU responded to a 3-acre fire that closed Highway 49 near El Dorado.
The fire had a slow rate of spread and grew to 16 acres before it was finally stopped and contained only an hour after it was initially reported.
Murphy Fire
Just a few hours after knocking down the Quartz Fire, CAL FIRE units were alerted to a second fire burning near Garden Valley.
This fire was also mapped at 3 acres and was found to have a moderate rate of spread and caused evacuations in the immediate area of the fire.
After a several-hour fire fight, the Murphy Fire was held at 4 acres and all evacuation orders were lifted.
The Garden Valley Fire Protection District, Georgetown Fire, El Dorado County Fire Protection District and Rescue Fire Department assisted with the fires.
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