Loyalton Fire update for Friday, August 21: 60 percent contained, almost 50,000 acres have burned
As of 7 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, the Loyalton Fire has burned 46,872 and is 60% contained. At least five homes and six outbuildings have been destroyed in the fire. No casualties or injuries have been reported.
Crews worked overnight to find and extinguish heat sources interior to containment lines near Balls Canyon Ranch and along the southern fire perimeter. Priorities today are to continue to strengthen lines, backhaul excess equipment, and identify remaining heat sources.
The update is as follows:
Smoke: Air quality conditions are predicted to be unhealthy overall, with periods of very unhealthy conditions.
Unfortunately, weather conditions are expected to persist through Saturday so this forecast area will continue to see smoke impacts from other regional fires.
Find a downloadable version of the daily air quality forecast at https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks/CentralSierra
More information about smoke in California is available at: http://californiasmokeinfo.blogspot.com/ or at https://fire.airnow.gov/
Weather: While the Red Flag Warning for the fire area has expired, extremely dry conditions, along with gusty winds, do imply critical conditions for firefighters.
A downloadable version of this update and maps are available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6975
Evacuations
All evacuations are now lifted with the exception of Long Valley Road and Balls Canyon Road.
Road Closures
There are currently no road closures associated with the Loyalton Fire.
Forest Closures
A Forest Closure for the Dog Valley area has been issued the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest due to the fire’s southern spread.
Find the closure order at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/6975/53327/
Go to www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe.
Join the conversation by following us on Twitter at twitter.com/Tahoe_NF and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TahoeNF.