Floriston Fire: Interstate 80 reopens days after wildfire threatened freeway
Interstate 80 is now back open for travel to and from Nevada and California as crews gain control over a wildfire that prompted evacuations. However, the fight to fully extinguish the fire is not yet over.
The Floriston Fire began at 10:01 a.m. Wednesday, by I-80 and Floriston Way, nine miles northeast of Truckee, Cal Fire said.
Floriston Fire evacuations
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office issued both evacuation orders and warnings because of the fire.
Under an order, you are lawfully required to leave immediately because of a threat to safety. People are not required to leave under a warning, but officials urge residents to be ready to do so at a moment’s notice in case conditions worsen.
See an evacuation map below.
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Floriston Fire acreage, containment, conditions
AlertCalifornia cameras showed a threatening plume of smoke when the fire first began Wednesday morning, but as of 8:05 a.m. Friday, the smoke has notably diminished.
However, a spokesperson for the wildfire response said that crews may still remain at this fire for at least a week to ensure all lingering hotspots are extinguished.
Cal Fire said as of 8:08 a.m. Friday, the fire has burned at least 622 acres. The last reported acreage was 640 on Thursday, but when crews get a better control over a wildfire, they’re able to more accurately survey the amount of land burned.
Crews have also established 15% of a containment line around the burn area to help prevent flames from continuing to spread, Cal Fire said. That’s an increase from the 8% containment reported Wednesday.
While progress is being made, some challenges are expected Friday as temperatures rise and humidity drops.
The town of Truckee, in a social media post Wednesday, said it’s aware of the fire and monitoring the situation.
The Truckee Donner Public Utility District said the fire could impact power service via transmission lines.
“If NV Energy opts for an emergency de-energization of the transmission line, all TDPUD customers will lose power without advance notice,” the utility said. “We recommend customers take precautions now to charge devices and prepare for the possibility of an outage.”
See a livestream of the Floriston Fire on Wednesday from LiveCopter 3 belowLIVE | LiveCopter 3 is over the Floriston Fire in Nevada CountyWatch on
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