July 26, 2010 - Firefighters have been responding to reported fires across northeast California in the wake of thunderstorms that began moving across the region Saturday afternoon.
The largest of more than 60 reported blazes is the Russell Fire which has burned about 200 acres of timber, juniper and brush in an area southeast of Little Valley near Russell Dairy Spring.
This morning there were about 200 people assigned to the fire. The Susanville Interagency Fire Center reported that 13 fire engines, six bulldozers, seven water tenders and a helicopter have been assigned. Crews will be working today to establish control lines around the fire.
A CAL FIRE incident management team takes over command of the fire this morning.
Fire starts were widespread across the nine million acres protected by SIFC. Crews in CAL FIRE's Bieber protection area responded to 17 fire reports, while there were five reported fires in the Susanville area and two in the Alturas region.
The Lassen National Forest had 19 reported fires, and crews responded to 19 fire reports on BLM-managed public lands.
SIFC will continue to dispatch crews and equipment to fires today, as more thunderstorms are expected and new fires are reported from the weekend lightning.
A fire in the Constantia region south of Doyle was being fought by crews dispatched from the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center in Minden, Nev. As of this morning, the fire had burned 1,700 acres and destroyed one home and several outbuildings.
Residents and visitors in the region are urged to use extreme caution with fire anytime they are outdoors. Motorists should also expect fire engines, crew buses and transport trucks on local highways and secondary roads as crews are dispatched to fire reports.
Editor's note: For continuous updates on all incidents, please visit our Fire News section.
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