The Elephant Fire near Loyalton, Calif., has grown to over 6,000 acres.
The Elephant Fire near Loyalton, Calif., has grown to over 6,000 acres.U.S. Forest Service-Tahoe National Forest
A 6,436-acre wildfire is burning through grass and sagebrush in the northern Sierra Nevada, near Loyalton and about an hour’s drive north of Truckee. As of Monday morning, the fire is only 5% contained, with showers and thunderstorms in the forecast.
Named the Elephant Fire, flames ignited on Saturday near Highway 49 and the county line dividing Sierra and Plumas counties. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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Flames are pushing to the north, mostly away from Loyalton, said Chris Buckley, a U.S. Forest Service spokesperson. The fire is moving through a burn scar from the 2020 Loyalton Fire.
The fire continued to grow by more than 2,000 acres on Sunday, burning thousands of acres even as clouds accumulated in the sky and temperatures started to drop. “Ridgetop winds, dry fuels and difficult terrain” are some of the biggest challenges on the Elephant Fire, according to an update posted on Inciweb on Sunday evening.
Despite “high potential” for the fire to continue growing as night fell, crews were able to hold back the fire’s spread, Buckley said on Monday morning.
The Elephant Fire near Loyalton, Calif., has grown to over 6,000 acres.
The Elephant Fire near Loyalton, Calif., has grown to over 6,000 acres.U.S. Forest Service-Tahoe National Forest
“Right now, it’s holding the acreage,” Buckley said.
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About 430 personnel are working to suppress the Elephant Fire, with ground crews bulldozing lines while helicopters drop fire retardant and buckets of water from the air.
“Operations today are going as planned,” Buckley said. “There’s a lot of people fighting on the ground and from the air.”
Lassen County sheriff’s deputies have issued an evacuation order for residents who live in the zone northeast of the fire. Evacuation warnings have been issued for two other zones in Plumas and Lassen counties.
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“Not a lot has changed in the overnight hours, which is a good thing,” Buckley said. “Everything seems to be holding, but obviously we’ll be updating Inciweb and our Facebook page and everything like that, if anything changes.”
Illegal drone temporarily grounds aerial fire crews
The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office has also been monitoring the fire. There have been no threats to residents in Loyalton or Sierra Brooks, communities southwest of the front. However, the sheriff reported on Facebook that someone had been operating an illegal drone in the vicinity of the Elephant Fire while helicopters were in the air. The drone was reported by a “vigilant citizen,” the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office reported.
“Thanks to the prompt reporting by the initial caller and information provided by numerous members of the public, deputies were able to quickly identify the individual believed to be responsible for operating the drone,” the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
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Aircraft have been integral to fighting the Elephant Fire near Loyalton, Calif.
Aircraft have been integral to fighting the Elephant Fire near Loyalton, Calif.U.S. Forest Service-Tahoe National Forest
The drone temporarily grounded aerial firefighting efforts. The delay put firefighters at greater risk, according to the sheriff. Deputies are actively investigating the drone incident.
“Unauthorized drone flights can force firefighting aircraft to stop flying until the airspace is confirmed clear, delaying firefighting operations and jeopardizing the safety of firefighters and the public,” the sheriff wrote.
Thunderstorms impact fire outlook
Rain showers sprinkled on Sunday night into Monday morning, Buckley said; however, the moisture wasn’t enough to make a big difference. The fire is still just 5% contained.
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Winds are relatively calm on Monday morning, reaching speeds of 30 mph over the ridgetops and 5-10 mph at lower elevations, said Heather Richards, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno.
Richards expects the region will see “wetting rains becoming more widespread in the afternoon.”
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“Right now, I’m watching just a huge plume of moisture streaming north across the area of the fire and over the Tahoe Basin, particularly the western side of the Tahoe Basin,” Richards said.
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The moisture should help tamp down the risk of lightning that comes with the thunderstorms.
Tuesday is expected to be even stormier, with more chances for flooding, Richards said.