The U.S. Forest Service reports several small fires near Sierra Springs Road in eastern Plumas County, were quickly contained by firefighters early Saturday evening. The three fires broke out south of Highway 70 on private land.
“The response by local Plumas County volunteer firefighting departments & federal fire resources was instrumental in keeping these fires contained to just over 5 acres,” said Matt Peterson, Incident Commander of The Plumas National Forest.
Air support, including a federal helicopter & air attack plane and a Cal Fire air tanker, were ordered from the Grass Valley Air Attack Base. One tanker drop and repeated helicopter drops assisted the ground resources.
“This was a multi-party effort on behalf of the community,” said Peterson, “including the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office & Office of Emergency Services, the CA Highway Patrol & Department of Transportation and the Plumas Rural Electric Cooperative.
Numerous homes in the immediate area were advised of a potential evacuation but were not evacuated and electricity was shut off briefly. Although Highway 70 was closed in both directions for about an hour, travelers were quickly rerouted to nearby roads.
The cause of the fires is yet to be determined.
For more fire information visit InciWeb at http://www.inciweb.nwcg.gov .
