Chips Fire Update September 01, 2012
Incident: Chips Wildfire
Released: 9/1/2012
For Immediate Release: September 1, 2012 @ 8:00am
Chips Fire Update
Started: July 29, 2012
Cause: Under Investigation
Fuels: Fire is burning in timber and low brush with numerous dead and downed logs and standing snags.
Estimated Size: 75,217
Containment: 100%
Committed Resources: Approximately 1,207
Structures Threatened: 0
Structures Damaged or Destroyed: 1 Residence, 8 Outbuildings
Injuries: 20
Summary: The fire is located on both the Plumas and Lassen National Forests, in Plumas County, 20 miles northwest of Quincy, California. Northern California (NorCal) Interagency Incident Management Team 2 (Joe Molhoek, Incident Commander) assumed management of the incident at 6:00 am today.
Firefighters continue today to mop up to 300' within the fire perimeter and around the community of Seneca, to locate and extinguish hot spots, and to begin suppression repair. Efforts include repairing roads and culverts, rehabilitating bulldozer lines, and installing water bars to mitigate erosion within the fire area.
Please be aware that smoke will continue to be visible within the fire area for some time due to pockets of unburned fuels ignitinginside the containment line. This poses no threat to the fire line,nor to containment of the fire, and continues to help reduce built up fuels on the ground.
The safety of the public and employees in the post-burned areas is of utmost importance. There may be a need to close some areas until hazards from dead trees along roads, trails, and adjacent to administrative sites can be removed. These areas will be reopened as soon as possible to reduce the impacts to the public.
Evacuations and Closures: The community of Seneca remains under mandatory evacuation. All National Forest Campgrounds and Day Use Areas on the west shore of Lake Almanor have been re-opened by the Plumas and Lassen National Forests. However, both the Plumas and Lassen National Forests continue to maintain Area Closures within and surrounding the Chips Fire area. This includes the following area of the Pacific Crest Trail: The PCT is officially closed from Three Lakes (in the Bucks Lake Wilderness) on the Plumas National Forest northbound to the Cold Spring trailhead at the Humbug Road (Plumas County Road 307) on the Lassen National Forest. Additionally, using the Caribou Road (Forest Route 27N26) is prohibited, as the area is also officially closed. Hikers and equestrians are advised to avoid travel on the portion of the PCT from Bucks Summit, north to Hwy 36. In order to re-route themselves most expeditiously, at Bucks Summit, northbound trail users may travel on Plumas County Road 414 east to Quincy, pick up Highway 70/89 to Chester and then Highway 36 west to resume the trail. Southbound travelers may reverse the process. Hikers may also use Plumas County Transit between Quincy and Chester, available weekdays only. The transit schedule can be found athttp://www.plumastransit.com/qcy to chester 23.html
Additional Fire Information: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/3052/ or call (530) 283-3593 and (530) 283-3288between the hours of 8am to 8pm. Follow us on Twitter@NorCalTeam2 .
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