A fast-growing fire near South Yuba River State Park in Nevada County, California, about 70 miles northeast of Sacramento, has grown to more than 900 acres in two days, prompting evacuation orders for hundreds of residents in nearby communities, authorities said. Thursday.
The blaze, dubbed the Rice Fire, is one of more than 50 large wildfires and complexes that have burned across parts of the United States so far this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Those fires have collectively burned more than two million acres in 12 states, the center said.
Wildfires are increasing in size and intensity in the western United States, and their seasons are getting longer. Recent research shows that the heat and dryness associated with climate change are factors in the increase of larger and more intense fires.
The Rice fire started in a building at 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to authorities. As of Thursday afternoon, it was about 12 percent contained and threatening 250 structures, they said.
More than 370 firefighters are working to extinguish the blaze, and seven of them have been injured, according to Cal Fire, an abbreviation from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Mary Eldridge, spokeswoman for the agency’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit, said those injuries were heat-related, but firefighters have since recovered and are back on the fire line.
“Rock climbing, in the direct heat of the sun, no shade; it’s really hard to stay hydrated,” she said, adding that the fire is burning along a steep cliff that hugs the Yuba River, making access extremely difficult.
On Thursday, planes were dropping water on the hottest parts of the fire in an attempt to put it out, Ms. Eldridge said, adding that authorities were considering whether to send firefighters down the ravine to put out some of the hardest-to-do. .. range-zones.
Along with the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office and the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office, Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit is leading the firefighting efforts.
On Thursday, winds were forecast to shift from an east to southwest direction, with gusts up to 20 mph that could blow smoke, reducing visibility on the ground, Cal Fire said in an incident update released at 7 a.m.
Since Wednesday, temperatures have dropped and humidity has risen, helping firefighters extinguish hot spots of the fire and build and improve containment lines using hand tools and bulldozers, Cal Fire said, adding that its goal is to keep the fire from entered neighboring Yuba County.
Andrew Trigg, a spokesman for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, said he hoped some residents would be able to return to their homes by Thursday evening. But, he added, “We need to make sure it’s safe for everyone to come back and that they don’t have to evacuate again.”
Ms. Eldridge, the Cal Fire spokeswoman, said authorities hoped to have the fire under control by Sunday, but that would depend on the winds and heat generated by the fire and the ability of firefighters to get into the “almost impossible” location.
She added: “We are cautiously optimistic.”
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