Update, August 4:
According to the Forest Service, the Mill Fire will be 100% contained by 6 p.m. Sunday. The fire is currently 2,962 acres and is 98% contained.
The Smith Fire is 45 acres and remains 100% contained.
The Gold Complex Fire will transition from the Plumas National Forest Type 3 Incident Management Team to a local Type 4 organization once both fires are fully contained at 6 p.m.
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Update July 29:
The lightning-sparked Gold Complex in Plumas County is now nearly 100% contained, after the Mill Fire reaches 98% containment.Â
The Forest Service says the 45-acre Smith Fire was fully contained on Saturday, while the Mill Fire is 2,962-acres.Â
The only evacuation order remaining is a mandatory order for PLU-113, which is the area directly adjacent to the Mill Fire’s perimeter. No residents are impacted by these evacuations. Fire managers are working with the Sheriff to adjust down to the fire’s perimeter. For specific evacuation information, visit: facebook.com/plumascountysheriff.
Full containment on the complex is now expected August 6, up from August 20 as previously reported.
Update July 28:
According to the Forest Service, the Mill Fire is now 75% contained and remains at just under 3,000 acres.
Update July 27:
The Forest Service says the Smith Fire is now 100% contained. The Mill Fire is 20% contained.
Original story July 26:
The lightning-sparked Gold Complex fire in Plumas County remains about 3,000+ acres.Â
Right now, the Mill Fire is burning about 2,962 acres while the Smith Fire remains 45 acres.
The Mill Fire is 10% contained and Smith is 60%.Â
The Forest Service anticipates the complex to be fully contained on August 20.
Liberty Utilities initially said that NV Energy would turn off its line serving Portola at approximately 1:00pm on Wednesday, but about 90 minutes later, it decided not to turn off power "due to evolving weather and fire conditions. Liberty remains in contact with NV Energy and will provide updates if status changes."
Liberty warns though it could still have power shut off if conditions worsen.
If and when NV Energy shuts off the line, Liberty customers in the Portola area will experience a power outage.
A Red Cross evacuation shelter is open at Quincy High School for evacuated residents. View the outage map on at http://libertyenergyandwater.com for status updates.
Plumas National Forest says any hot weather conditions may make it difficult to maintain any of the fire lines.
"Hot temperatures, winds, also the chance of additional thunderstorms, there is the possibility of spot fires and things happening around those fires," said Tamara Schmidt, public affairs officer for Plumas National Forest. "So we're monitoring those conditions."
Luckily air quality has been improving throughout the day. According to Air Now, most of the surrounding areas such as Clio, Graeagle, and Portola are ranking down to moderate.
There are homes and communities threatened still by all three Mill and Smith fires. Plumas County Sheriff's Office says mandatory evacuations are in place in north and south Portola east to Beckwourth-Calpine road, as well as the north side of Delleker, Maybe, and the area around Lake Davis.
The Gold Complex Fire has grown to around 2,300 acres.
"Be ready to go. It's fire season. If you need to be evacuated, be sure you have the stuff you need and be ready to go when the time comes," says Shmidt.
Robby Chestnut, Portola resident who's staying at the evacuation shelter in Quincy High School, tells us he barely had time to pack anything because of how quickly he needed to leave.
"I grabbed a toothbrush and a pair of shorts and that's it," he said. "It was pretty close it was time to go."
Chestnut says responders are sending out shuttles to help relocate neighbors that don't have a car, including him. Regardless of these tough times, he says he's grateful of all the help he's being given.
"It feels like everybody cares very much and everybody is doing what they can to feel safe." he said. "I didn't think anybody was going to show up to tell you the truth, but the bus guy showed up so."
"There's been a lot of trauma around fire for the past five years," Shmidt added. "Approximately 2/3 of our forest has been affected by fire over the past five to six years so our community has been through a lot. So having that support, everybody working together has been super important and we appreciate it a lot."
The public is asked to stay out of the area in and around the fires for public and firefighter safety.
