Firefighters Injured Battling Lowell Wildfire; 2,000 Homes Threatened in Northern California

July 26,2015

Nevada County Fire Quickly Burns Thousands Of Acres

CBS Sacramento

A fast-moving wildfire that began Saturday afternoon has injured four firefighters and burned through 1,500 acres in Northern California.
Four firefighters were injured battling the blaze, CalFire spokesperson Daniel Berlant told KTXL-TV. Three of the four injured were transported to UC Medical Center's burn center for burn injuries. Their conditions are currently unknown.
The fire crew's position was overrun by flames, burning their engine, the French Camp McKinley Fire District told local media.
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Mandatory evacuations were ordered for the towns of Red Dog, Chalk Bluff, You Bet and Lowell Hill, says CalFire. Evacuations were advised in the Cascade Shores and Gold Run/Alta areas.
Berlant said via Twitter that the fire was threatening 2,000 homes in Nevada County. The fire's leading edge was "burning rapidly in a northly (sic) direction" CalFire reported.

Previous estimates put the so-called Lowell Fire at more than 4,000 acres, but CalFire said more accurate mapping of the blaze prompted the agency to lower the fire's size to 1,500.
Still, steep terrain and general inaccessibility is hindering firefighting efforts. The fire was just 5 percent contained as of Sunday morning.
Weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen said that current/forecast conditions are "marginally favorable for the spread of wildfires," but that conditions will get much less favorable in the coming days should firefighters fail to gain control of the fire.
"After Monday it's expected to get much hotter Tuesday through the end of the week with highs well into the 90s at the site of the fire, which is close to 3,000 feet above sea level," said Wiltgen.An evacuation center has been established in Grass Valley, California.
There are more than 750 firefighting personnel attending to the blaze, including 12 helicopters and 9 air tankers.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the Placer and Nevada County Sheriff's Offices are looking for more information on a "vehicle of interest" that was spotted in the area around the time the fire started.
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