The Bear Fire, burning in Sierra County near Loyalton has expanded to 2,000 acres as of Tuesday evening. Firefighters are facing challenges due to the blaze burning in steep terrain, with afternoon winds further intensifying the fire’s behavior.
Fire officials report that crews are actively working to build containment lines, while air resources continue to support the efforts with retardant and water drops. All existing evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect.
The fire has forced hundreds from their homes and caused widespread power outages. Plumas Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative (PSREC) announced that due to damage to some of NV Energy’s transmission lines, PSREC will assist in serving transmission to the Loyalton area to restore electricity while NV Energy completes repairs. To safely conduct the transmission switching, Portola will experience a brief outage during this process.
As the fire continues to burn you can expect lingering smoke, leading to hazier skies, especially in the morning and evening hours.
