NEVADA COUNTY – Weather conditions were working in the favor of fire crews early Thursday in their fight against the Rices Fire burning along the Yuba River in Nevada County.
The terrain was a bit more challenging.
"There is a lot of steep terrain that firefighters have to access," spokeswoman Mary Eldridge of the Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit said early Thursday. "We are using rope systems with specialists rappelling from cliffs to get to some of the trees that grow out of the rocks. Our hope is to keep them from sparking."
The previous 24 hours produced "tremendous progress" in the fight, Eldridge said. Fire crews had zero containment on the blaze on Wednesday morning but by Thursday at 7 a.m. it was 12% contained, according to Cal Fire.
The wildfire had burned 904 acres and destroyed one structure. It was threatening at least another 250, unit Chief Brian Estes said.
Five firefighters dealt with symptoms related to heat exhaustion while battling the blaze, but they were all OK after rest and treatment, Eldridge said. Three returned to the fire lines Thursday.
Keeping the blaze east of the Yuba River was the primary objective Thursday, according to Cal Fire. Firefighters were also working to keep the fire north of Rices Crossing, west of Pleasant Valley and south of Sweetland Creek.
If the fire spreads into Yuba County, it could threaten the communities of Dobbins, Challenge-Brownsville and Oregon House, according to Estes.
Evacuation orders remained in place for about 300 residents, according to Capt. Sam Brown of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office. He said 10 people were staying at a shelter established at the Madelyn Helling Library at 980 Helling Way in Nevada City.
The weather also was cooperating. Temperatures were expected to rise to about 90 degrees through most of Nevada County and winds were about 8-10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The winds also had shifted, according to Eldridge.
"It's significantly cooler, and the wind has turned," she said. "It will blow back against itself and the embers won't have any fuel if they land on areas that already are burned."
The fire was first reported at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Rices Crossing and Cranston roads, south of Dobbins, according to Cal Fire. At the news conference, Estes said the blaze began as a structure fire. The cause of the structure fire was under investigation.
The fire did not come as a surprise to Estes, who pointed to a years-long drought as a primary factor. He said he expected conditions to only worsen as the summer continues.
"I don't really see it letting up at all," he said.
Check back for updates.
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