SEPTEMBER 7, 11:06 P.M. UPDATE
The size of the Bear Fire holds steady at around 3,327 acres, with 32% containment according toCalFire's website.
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SEPTEMBER 6, 4:03 P.M. UPDATE
Water restrictions have been lifted for the residents of Sierra Brooks, California.
This decision comes after significant improvements in local water levels once power was restored.
More information and tips on water conservation are available on the Sierra County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.
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SEPTEMBER 6, 7:05 A.M. UPDATE
The Bear Fire, in Sierra County, is slowly growing in containment.
CAL FIRE says the 3,327-acre wildfire is 15% contained.
Some mandatory evacuation orders due to the fire have been downgraded.
Residents of the Sierra Brooks community were able to return home today after days of mandatory evacuations after the orders for their community were changed to warnings.
Entry to the community requires identification.
Sierra County has opened a dumpster at the Sierra Brooks Lodge to help residents get rid of any food that may have spoiled while they were away.
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SEPTEMBER 5, 7:15 A.M. UPDATE
The Bear Fire is now 3,327 acres and still 0% contained after starting early Monday afternoonsouth of Sierra Brooks in Sierra County.
Firefighters say they're made progress building lines around the perimeter of the fire in the last couple of days, but they're bracing for windier weather in the day ahead.
Evacuations are improving because of the fire, with the community Sierra Brooks now downgraded to a warning.However, some evacuations orders are still in place around the fire.
CAL FIRE, the Forest Service, and Sierra County Sheriff's Office will hold a community meeting on Thursday evening.
It will be in-person at Sierraville Elementary School at 7 p.m. - or you can watch it live on the Tahoe National Forest Facebook page below -
Here’s a quick video from Reno Firefighters currently working on Brush 7 assisting on the Bear Fire which is near Loyalton, California. The fire is currently at 3000 acres. pic.twitter.com/aaVNgujJYH
— Reno Firefighters (@RenoFirefighter) September 4, 2024
Video of AEU's Tahoe Meyers Crews working tirelessly on the #BearFire in Sierra County. AEU has engines/crews @Tahoe_NF & @CALFIRENEU on the Bear Fire, as well as CAL FIRE/Fresno County Fire on the #BooneFire. Shoutout to everyone across the state battling these fires. Stay safe! pic.twitter.com/kMWOWxBqN2
— CAL FIRE AEU (@CALFIREAEU) September 5, 2024
Hundreds of people in the Loyalton area were without power on Tuesday but it has since been restored to several areas.
The sheriff's office says Sierra County Social Services is available to address individual emergency needs at 202 Front Street in Loyalton or by calling 530-993-6700.
Sierra-Plumas Unified School District indicates they will continue to work with law enforcement, OES, and fire officials to make decisions about school one day at a time using all relevant information. They will continue to communicate school closure information through email and text systems, the District Facebook page, and the automated all-call system.
The cause of the wildfire remains under investigation.
Our B12 crew supporting fire suppression efforts at the #BearFire — drafting from a creek and pumping a progressive hose line to the crews controlling edge of fire.
— North Lake Tahoe Fire (@NLTahoeFire) September 4, 2024
Sierra County, CA
Currently at 2947 acres.
For more information visithttps://t.co/zgskEho6LL pic.twitter.com/A9rseouPCb
Bear Fire prompts Air Quality Advisory for Reno-Sparks area
Smoke from the Bear Fire is expected to have the greatest impact Thursday evening through Friday morning.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
SEPTEMBER 3, 10:15 P.M. UPDATE:
The Liberty Energy and Water website, which has been tracking outages related to the Bear Fire since they first began, currently shows no outages in the area.
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SEPTEMBER 3, 6:45 P.M. UPDATE:
The size of the Bear Fire has grown to 2,000 acres, 0% containment according toCalFire's website.
Utility outages should no longer be affecting anyone in Portola, according to Liberty Energy and Water.
Loyalton is still suffering outages - around 230 people are affected, and there are a small number of customers in South Lake Tahoe that are affected as well.
You can keep up with outage information using Liberty Energy's outage site.
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SEPTEMBER 3, 5:25 P.M. UPDATE:
The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office has expanded evacuation warnings for the Bear Fire.
In a thread on X, the U.S. Forest Service says fire crewsare working effortlessly to establish containment lines. Air support is also helping to contain the fire.
Winds throughout the night are expected to blow steadily from the west at around 10 miles per hour.
A complete and updated list of evacuation orders and warnings associated with the fire can be found at this link.
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SEPTEMBER 3, 3:40 P.M. UPDATE:
The size of the Bear Fire has grown to 1,578 acres, 0% containment according toCalFire's website.
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Bear Fire Photos and Video
Bear Fire Forest Cam
Bear Fire 1
0:22
Bear Fire Vid 1
0:08
Bear Fire Vid 2
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SEPTEMBER 3, 2:32 P.M. UPDATE:
NV Energy, in coordination with Plumas Sierra, will be attempting a re-energization of most Loyalton customers currently without power.
To complete this re-energization, NV Energy will have to temporarily shut down power to Portola for about one hour.
— Liberty Utilities Lake Tahoe (@LibertyUtil_CA) September 3, 2024Bear Fire Update.
NV Energy has informed Liberty that due to favorable weather and fire conditions, NV Energy is able to attempt a re-energization of most Loyalton customers currently without power.
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SEPTEMBER 3, 1:51 P.M. UPDATE:
Outdoor watering is now suspended for residents of Sierra Brooks due to the Bear Fire.
Officials are asking everyone in the area to please conserve indoor use of water as much as possible while crews fight the fire.
For questions or to get additional information, contact the Sierra County Department of Public Works at (530) 289-3201.
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SEPTEMBER 3, 11:21 A.M. UPDATE:
NV Energy has turned off its line serving portions of Sierra County due to the Bear Fire.
Liberty Utilities Lake Tahoe customers in that area are experiencing a power outage due to the shutoff.
No restoration time is currently available. NV Energy is preparing teams to assess the area once fire officials deem it is safe to do so.
Liberty Utilities customers can view an outage map on theLiberty Energy and Water website.
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SEPTEMBER 3, 9:30 A.M. UPDATE:
The size of the Bear Fire has grown to 1,391 acres, 0 % containment according to CalFire's website.
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7:04 P.M. UPDATE
Evacuation orders and warnings have been updated for the Bear Fire per CalFire's website.
Evacuation orders are in place for the areas of SIE-E030, SIE-E031 and SIE-E032.
An evacuation order is an immediate threat to life - an order by law enforcement to leave immediately. The areas are lawfully closed to public access.
Evacuation warnings are in place for the areas of SIE-E022, SIE-E023, SIE-E027, SIE-E028 and SIE-E029.
An evacuation warning is for a potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave immediately.
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6:47 P.M. UPDATE
The most recent update from the U.S. Forest Service says that sources are projecting the fire to be close to 800 acres in size.
Resources on scene projecting 800 acres. https://t.co/1tRiIo0PI0
— USFS-Tahoe National Forest (@Tahoe_NF) September 3, 2024
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5:15 P.M. UPDATE
