6:30 pm: Yuba Fire at 3,260 acres; 5 injured

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Marijuana gardens burning

The Yuba Fire had spread to about 3,260 acres as of Sunday evening at 5:30 p.m. because the terrain in the Dobbins area, said Calfire spokeswoman Jo-Ann Cartoscelli.

Five firefighters were injured fighting the blaze. Their injuries were "minor," Cartoscelli said.

Authorities also encountered some marijuana gardens off of Troost Trail, where the fire expanded after 2 p.m. Sunday. Four major powerlines and three powerhouses that produce 300 Megawatts of power remain de-energized.

The fire picked up steam Sunday because of the canyon terrain, Cartoscelli said.

"When it gets into the canyons, it's harder to fight," Cartoscelli said. "You can't drive into it ... It jumped the river and when it goes uphill, it goes fast."

So far, 235,000 pounds of retardant have been dropped on the blaze.

The Colgate Powerhouse, associated transmission lines, and hundreds of homes are being threatened by the fire, Calfire reported.

As of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the Yuba Fire still was 15 percent contained. Calfire will provide updated information after 7 p.m., spokeswoman Pam Hunter said Sunday afternoon.

"They have a good handle on it westerly, but it's more difficult easterly" in the French Corral area because winds are fanning the flames in that direction, Hunter said.

Smoke filled the skies over western Nevada County Sunday and ash covered people's cars. An air advisory has been in effect since Aug. 14 from the Northern Sierra Air Quality District. Whenever you can smell smoke or see ash, the air quality is poor, people should stay indoors and avoid strenuous physical activity when outside.

A dinner will be held for fire evacuees at 6 p.m. at the Dobbins-Oregon House Community Center, 9158 Marysville Road sponsored by the Foothills Lions Club. The Dobbins-Oregon House is also a cooling center and evacuation shelter. Previous evacuation shelters at the Elks Lodge and the Loma Rica Community Church in Marysville have been closed due to lack of necessity, Jepsen said.

Mandatory evacuations were made for the following roads:

In Nevada County: Troost Trail. Advisory evacuations were given in other areas along Pleasant Valley Road, which was reported closed to nonresidents between Bridgeport and Birchville Road.

In Yuba County, evacuation orders have been expanded to some new areas: Providence Road, Candlewood Way, Yuba Nevada Road, Lake Francis Road, Halvey Road, Frank Harding Way, Colgate Tunnel Lane, Road 1052, Canyon View, and a portion of Marysville Road east of Lake Francis Road.

The sheriff's office activated a telephone advisory to homes in the area notifying people of the threat, said Nevada County Sheriff's Sgt. Alicia Milhous.

Livestock can be taken to the Penn Valley Rodeo grounds, Milhous said.

Fire jumped Yuba on Saturday

Driven by a north-northwest wind of about 3 to 5 mph, flames pressed eastward toward the north fork of the Yuba River Saturday, jumping the Yuba at French Corral at about 4 p.m. A blaze in that area had grew to about 50 acres by 10 p.m., Cartoscelli said.

Earlier reports that the fire had spread to 4,000 acres was an overestimate, Yuba County Emergency Services spokesman Russ Brown said.

"They did a fly-over and realized they had doubled their estimate," Yuba County Emergency Services spokesman Russ Brown said late Saturday.

The fire's cause has been determined to be a red-tailed hawk that hit a power line, Cartoscelli said.

Two people have been injured in the blaze. It was undetermined if they were firefighters or civilians. There were also two structures destroyed in the fire off Lake Francis Road, including a building owned by PG&E, Calfire reported. The other structure was unknown.

About 650 firefighters, 65 engines, 20 hand crews, 14 bulldozers and nine water tenders are on the scene of the fire continues to threaten the major power transmission lines from Colgate Powerhouse — the oldest in the state — and there is a major outage in the Dobbins area.

There are five air tankers and 12 helicopters deployed to battle the blaze.

Dobbins area evacuations

A mandatory evacuation has been ordered along the lower portion of the Dobbins Grade, just east of Dobbins. The area, which has very few residences, is along the lower portion of the grade that leads toward New Bullard Bar Reservoir.

"We are looking at north winds tonight, so we will have crews on all night long," Cartoscelli said Saturday.

Further up the grade, residents on Oregon Hill Road were given an advisory evacuation notice, which was voluntary Saturday afternoon.

The Dobbins-Oregon House Community Center will be open Sunday morning at 10 a.m. as a cooling and refreshment center. Water and snacks will be available from the Red Cross, Brown said.

The evacuation center at Loma Rica Community Church has been closed for lack of need; 35 people stayed tthere Friday night, the first after the fire broke out at 1 p.m. Friday afternoon, but two people remained Saturday, Brown reported.

Areas near Dobbins that remained under evacuation orders Saturday were: Yuba-Nevada Road south of Colton Road; all of Lake Francis Road; all of Candlewood Road, according to Yuba County Emergency Services.

The evacuation was lifted on Texas Hill Road. Residents north of Texas Hill Road are being allowed to return home. Approximately 80 homes south of the road were still affected by the evacuation order Saturday afternoon.

Two residences have been destroyed off Lake Francis Road, Burger said. About 120 homes have been evacuated in the Lake Francis area.

Animals can be evacuated to the Yuba County Sheriff's Posse Arena on Marysville Road in Browns Valley, just north of Highway 20.

The fire includes two blazes that are threatening multiple structures near the Colgate Powerhouse and Lake Francis, just a few air miles west of North San Juan and just over the Nevada County line.

Dobbins is on the north side of the Middle Fork of the Yuba River, just over the Nevada County line near Bullards Bar Reservoir.

Three special strike teams have been sent to the scene from the Tahoe National Forest, Nevada County and Yuba County, Cartoscelli said.

Evacuations ordered; rescinded

Evacuations have been ordered on the following roads: Troost Trail, Providence Road, Candlewood Way, Yuba Nevada Road, Lake Francis Road, Halvey Road, Frank Harding Way, Colgate Tunnel Lane, Road 1052, Canyon View, and a portion of Marysville Road east of Lake Francis Road.

Rescinded evacuations: Texas Hill, east of Dixon Hill Road; Colton Way; Dixon Hill; Meadow Valley; Sky Meadow Way; Beacon Lane; Rices Texas Hill Road; and Rices Crossing on the southern end.

Officials also issued a voluntary evacuation order as a precaution for all residents who live on Regent Way or access their homes from that road. Regent Road runs southwest off Rices Crossing Road, according to Yuba County spokesman Russ Brown.

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