Evacuations Ordered in Del Norte County

The Del Norte Sheriff’s Office has ordered evacuations for parts of the county.

Evacuation levels as of 6:45pm Wednesday, August 16 are:

• Level 3 “Go Now” for Patrick Creek, Little Jones Creek, Copper Creek Drainage, Coon Creek/ 16n19 17n07.
• Level 2 “Be Set” for Washington Flat, High Divide, Rowdy Creek, Pioneer/Panther Flat.
• Level 1 “Be Ready” for French Hill, Big Flat/Rock Creek, Low Divide, Gasquet.

Closures:

• U.S. Highway 199 is fully closed in Del Norte County from Pioneer Road to Oregon Mountain Road (PM 16 to 31) due to the fires. There is no estimated time of reopening. A hard closure is in place on U.S. 199 at the Agriculture Station near the Oregon border. For the latest road conditions please visit quickmap.dot.ca.gov
• U.S. Forest Service campgrounds in the area are closed, this includes Patrick Creek, Grassy Flat, Panther Flat, and Big Flat Campgrounds.  

There are 13 fires burning within the Smith River Complex. Three are contained. The rest are burning more than 1,500 acres.

Extreme weather and rugged terrain are hampering firefighting efforts.

California Interagency Incident Management Team 15 will hold a briefing at noon Thursday and assume command of firefighting at that point.