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Wednesday: Northern California Fire Update

  UPDATE | Wednesday 12:27 p.m. 

Mandatory evacuations are still in effect and have been expanded for residents living in the area threatened by the Happy Camp Complex Fire burning in Siskiyou County. That fire is threatening about 250 homes along Highway 96. More information about the Happy Camp Complex Fire is availablehere.

Meanwhile, public safety officials have been able to lift and reduce most evacuation orders and advisories on other wildfires burning in Northern California, although some residents are still unable to return to their homes. After about three weeks, mandatory evacuations were finally lifted Sunday evening for residents in the Mule Bridge and Taylor Lake area affected by the July Complex burning in Siskiyou County.

Evacuation orders and advisories have also been lifted for the Oregon Fire burning in Trinity County. Officials say firefighters have now fully contained the 580 acre fire near the town of Weaverville. That fire burned one structure.

Below are the conditions of these and other major fires in the listening area: 

 Siskiyou County -- July Complex

The July Complex consists of several fires, including the Whites Fire and the Man Fire (in the Marble Mountain Wilderness) that have burned a total of more than 40,000 acres. On Thursday the Evacuation Order for Idlewild was lifted and the Evacuation Advisory for Sawyer's Bar & Eddy Gulch was lifted. Due to low visibility, strings of pack mules and horses are being utilized on this fire. About 800 firefighters continue to work the fires.

  • Whites Fire
  • Location: 4 miles east of Sawyers Bar 
  • 33,763 acres burned 
  • 98% contained 
  • Evacuation orders: All previous evacuation orders and advisories have been lifted. 
  • Road closure: On Sunday, the Siskiyou County Sheriff re-opened Sawyers Bar Road to Mule Bridge and Sawyers Bar Road. 
  • Due to unhealthy air quality, a Clean Air Respite Center has been opened at the Family Resource Center in Fort Jones
     
  • Man Fire
  • Location: Marble Mountain Wilderness
  • 2,916 acres
  • 9% contained
  • Information about forest closure orders can be found here

An evacuation center is on stand-by at Scott Valley Junior High School in Fort Jones.
Trinity County:Oregon Fire

  • Location: Off Hwy 299 at Oregon Mountain Summit, near Weaverville
  • Cause: Sparks from a boat trailer which became unhitched from a vehicle.
  • 580 acres burned
  • 100% contained
  • All evacuations have been lifted
  • Weaver Bally Road open to residents only. Current road conditions are available here

Siskiyou County - Beaver Fire

  • Location: near the town of Klamath River, north of Hwy 96 in Siskiyou County.
  • 32,496 acres burned
  • 97% contained
  • The Pacific Coast Trail has been reopened through the Beaver Fire area north of Highway 96 but other portions remain closed because of the Happy Camp Complex
  • Forest closure information can be found here
     

Mendocino County --Lodge Lightning Complex

  • Location: the remote Elkhorn Ridge Wilderness near Laytonville
  • 12,536 acres burned 
  • 98% contained 
  • 15 injuries 
  • All Evacuation warnings and advisories have been lifted.
     

Though the following fires have reached full containment, forest and trail closures are still in effect for these fire-affected areas:  

  • Shasta County -- Eiler Fire & Bald Fire forest closure information here
  • Trinity County -- Coffee Fire forest closure information here
     

To view more photos of the Northern California fires, click here.
 

Valerie Ing was a teenager when she hosted her first music program on the airwaves. As a student at SOU, she was JPR’s Chief Student Announcer and the first volunteer in our newsroom. She's now JPR’s Northern California Program Coordinator, hosting Siskiyou Music Hall from JPR's Redding studio in the Cascade Theatre.