Evacuations lifted at Rices Fire as crews gain control of Northern California wildfire

Authorities lifted all evacuations and road closures at the Rices Fire Monday morning, as crews moved toward full containment.

The wildfire, which is burning in northwest Nevada County, has remained at 904 acres since Thursday morning. In that time, crews have raised the containment level to 65% from 12%.

In a Monday morning incident report, Cal Fire officials said that crews “were able to take advantage of favorable weather conditions” through the weekend to mop up the fire and strengthen containment lines.

The fire prompted evacuation orders last week in the Buttermilk, Bridgeport and French Corral areas. All lingering orders, warnings and closures were lifted with a Cal Fire report indicating that crews expect full containment of the blaze by Tuesday.

The blaze injured 15 firefighters and one civilian. Last week, Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer spokeswoman Mary Eldridge said nearly all of the firefighter injuries were related to dehydration or heat illness.

Thirteen structures were destroyed in the fire and one was damaged. The blaze no longer threatens any structures, Cal Fire said.

The fire first ignited June 28 after an uninhabited building caught fire and spread to surrounding vegetation. The cause of the structure fire remains under investigation.

Sandra Fire

The Sandra Fire, which flared east of Oroville Thursday afternoon, is 100% contained, Cal Fire reported Sunday.

The fire grew to 34 acres in just over an hour Thursday afternoon, prompting Butte County officials to issue a series of urgent evacuation orders near Robinson Mill and Forbestown. But firefighters gained control of the blaze Thursday evening, stopping forward progress. All evacuation orders and warning were lifted by Friday morning.

No injuries or structure damage were reported.