For Release: June 30, 2006 10 a.m.
Contact: Jeff Fontana (530) 252-5332; (530) 260-2675 (cell)

Firefighting Effort Winding Down; Caution Urged During Holiday

Fire crews from Susanville Interagency Fire Center agencies are making good progress in containing dozens of wildfires sparked by a barrage of lightning strikes this week.

The dispatch center will begin demobilizing the firefighting force brought to the area to augment local resources, sending engines and crews to other fires or to their home stations.

Fire officials said they expect to continue dispatching firefighters to "sleeper" fires, which are smoldering lightning fires that erupt as temperatures warm and vegetation dries out.

Near Susanville, officials said forest fires on Goat Mountain, west of Susanville, and on slopes west of the Willow Creek Valley have been contained at 250 acres and 20 acres respectively. Firefighters also announced containment of Fire S-5, a 1,500-acre rangeland fire 16 miles south of Eagleville in Washoe County, Nev.

More than 200 personnel continue work on the Observation Complex, which consists of fires burning rangeland and wildlife habitat about 30 miles northeast of Susanville. A total of 4,000 acres are involved; blazes are 80 percent contained. No structures are threatened.

Additionally, fire crews continue work toward containment of a 100-acre timber fire near Jack's Lake, northwest of Eagle Lake. The blaze is about 50 percent contained. There are no structures threatened.

SIFC officials reminded northeast California residents and visitors that firefighting resources are stretched thin because of fires burning across the west. They urged everyone to use extreme caution with any use of fire outdoors.

They stressed that possession and use of fireworks, including State Fire-Marshal-approved devices, are illegal in national forests, national parks and on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Northeast California communities have various regulations regarding fireworks, and officials said July Fourth revelers should check with local jurisdictions for specific regulations before purchasing or using fireworks.

Fire traffic on area roads could be heavy in some areas. SIFC officials asked drivers to be careful around emergency equipment.

-sifc-

Susanville Interagency Fire Center 1491 Fifth St., Susanville, CA 96130
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Lassen National Forest
Bureau of Land Management - Lassen Volcanic National Park