A wildfire burning in the sparsely populated northern Sierra has grown quickly since the weekend, reaching more than 12,300 acres with about 5% containment as of Monday, according to fire officials. The Elephant Fire started Saturday afternoon north of Loyalton, near Highway 49, and expanded rapidly over the following two days.
A fast climb
The fire burned about 2,300 acres in its first hours, grew to roughly 6,400 acres by Sunday, and reached about 12,303 acres on Monday. Much of it is moving through grass and sagebrush within the footprint of the 2020 Loyalton Fire, and in other areas through timber with heavy dead fuel, conditions that can drive rapid spread.
The blaze sits in a rural stretch of Sierra County, near the boundaries with Lassen and Plumas counties, terrain of steep ground and dry summer fuels that has complicated the firefight.
Evacuations ease, but warnings hold
There was one piece of better news for residents on Monday. Officials lifted the evacuation order that had been in place in Lassen County, a sign crews had gained some ground on that flank. Evacuation warnings, which urge residents to be ready to leave, remained in effect for parts of Lassen and Plumas counties, including areas south of Chilcoot toward the Sierra County line.
The response
Roughly 500 personnel were assigned to the fire, working with engines, bulldozers and aircraft to build containment lines where the terrain allows. CAL FIRE listed a target of full containment by July 22, though such estimates shift with the weather. Forecasters warned that thunderstorm winds early in the week could bring erratic gusts and the risk of dry lightning, either of which could test the lines crews have built.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. It is one of the larger wildfires California has seen so far this year, a reminder, as the state moves deeper into summer, of how fast a fire can run through cured grass and old burn scars even in a lightly populated corner of the Sierra. Fire information changes quickly; residents in the area are urged to follow CAL FIRE and county emergency alerts for the latest evacuation guidance.
