Western Railroad Discussion > UP Canyon Sub... New Fire at Rich Bar

A new wildland fire has started near Rich Bar, MP 264.5, on the UP Canyon Subdivision. Initially this fire was reported to be 2 fires, 1 at 10 acres and the second at 15 acres, and possibly started by a passing train.

Hwy. 70 is closed between Jarbo Gap in Butte County and the Hwy.70/89 Greenville wye (west of Keddie) in Plumas County.

For those unfamiliar with this location, the UP Canyon Subdivision is located in California, within the UP Roseville Service Unit.


Additional news, photo, and map information...
http://www.plumasnews.com/
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Rich+Bar&state=CA
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/plumas/

Jeez...here we go again!

http://www.plumasnews.com/news_story.edi?sid=6558

Ironically, today was one of first smoke-free days seen in this area for a while. That is a function of steady winds out of the south across the Sacramento Valley. The fires that burned through the Feather River Canyon most recently had minimal winds after the initial lightning-induced onslaught. Tonight, the wind will blow up-canyon until late this evening and then may reverse back down-canyon, keeping firefighters on the run. My guess is that this will give UP a headache running trains.

Does anyone know if the two fire trains are still in the canyon?

The following new information of the Rich Fire burning in the Feather River Canyon. Hwy 70 is closed from the Greenville/Quincy Y to below Virgilia.

InciWeb - Wildland Fire and Incident Information System
Rich Wildland Fire
Incident Information
Announcements
Closures
News
Photographs
Maps
INCIDENT UPDATED 13 MIN. AGO
Summary
Firefighters from the Canyon Complex and the Plumas National Forest, assisted by aerial resources are presently engaged in an initial attack on the Rich Bar Fire, a new start approximately four miles east of Belden, CA. Roughly 100 acres in size and burning on both sides of Highway 70, the fire is under investigation. Voluntary evacuations are occurring in the Rush Creek Road, Virgilia and the Rich Bar areas. An evacuation center has been established at Veterans Hall in Quincy, CA. Highway 70 is closed from the Hwy 70/89 junction at the Greenville 'Y' on the east to Rich Bar on the west.

Basic Information
Incident Type Wildland Fire
Cause Under Investigation
Date of Origin Wednesday July 29th, 2009 aprox 03:30 PM
Location Near Rush Creek in Feather River Canyon
Incident Commander Canyon Complex

Current Situation
Total Personnel Not available
Size 100 acres
Significant Events Voluntary evacuations are occuring in the Rush Creek, Virgilia, and Rich Bar areas. TRAFFIC ALERT MESSAGES PROVIDED BY REDDING TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT CENTER July 29, 2008 as of 4:40 PM Due to a wildfire, Highway 70 is currently closed at the junction of 89 and 70, the Greenville Wye, 10 miles west of Quincy. There is no estimated time for reopening the highway. Motorists should choose an alternate route.Route is also closed on the west end of Highway 70 at Virgilia.


Outlook
Planned Actions Air support has been ordered.

Remarks Not available


Weather
Current Wind Conditions Not available
Current Temperature Not available
Current Humidity Not available

Unit Information

Plumas National Forest
U.S. Forest Service
159 Lawrence Street
P.O. Box 11500
Quincy, CA 95971
Incident Contact
Canyoncomplex Information
Phone: (530) 283-7882
Recent Incident Articles
Highway 70 Closure
Closure - 57 min. ago

Information posted on this website is for information purposes only.
version: 2.1 (beta) load: 0.00389 sec.
SHERRIE THRALL
PLUMAS COUNTY SUPERVISOR, DISTRICT 3
P.O. Box 368
Chester, CA 96020
530-258-3656

Canyon Sub road channel radio traffic has been pretty quiet for the past 45 minutes. The MRORV just went through Oroville and I suspect it may have been the last train to depart Keddie. Uncle Sam might been holding trains east of there.

Where's Team Leland? No reports?

Another excellent fire information website is www.yubanet.com. The site is updated quickly along with a satellite image of the fire perimeter.

Wow, I saw this blow up on the NWS Reno 1km Visible satellite animation this afternoon. A quick look at the CDF reports from the morning made no mention of it, thought it might have been some sort of cloud phenomenon. Too bad it's more fire.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/index.php?wfo=sto

sphogger

The WRVRVW-29 water train is now on its way up the Feather River Canyon from Oroville. [There is still an active large volume water source within the old Oroville WP yard. They may be using this source to replenish the water tankers.]

Reportedly, the canyon is now clear of trains (that are not tied down) with the exception of the eastbound water train.

This morning (Wednesday) the fire is 2,424 acres with 0% containment. According to a USFS source, the UP Canyon Subdivision is closed and UP was not allowed to proceed into the fire area with the fire train. Evacuations are in place for the communities of Rich Bar, Rush Creek, and Virgilia, and of course a hard closure is still in place for Hwy 70.

Link to NWS Satellite Still Photo...
http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/showsat.php?wfo=rev&area=west&type=vis&size=1

Link to NWS Satellite Animated Loop...
http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/loopsat.php?wfo=rev&area=west&type=vis&size=1