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Northern California fire crews are responding to two wildfires burning along the Humboldt County line — the Butler Fire near Forks of Salmon in Siskiyou County and the Bridge Fire near Alderpoint. The following fire updates are current as of this morning.

Butler Fire

The Butler Fire, which ignited near Forks of Salmon during a lightning storm on Thursday evening, has grown to 233 acres with no containment. There are 73 fire personnel assigned to the fire, including four crews, four engines and two helicopters, with a fixed wing on order.

There is a mandatory evacuation order in place for Siskiyou County residents living in SIS-1703 and SIS-1708. There are evacuation warnings in place for SIS-1704, SIS-1707, SIS-1710 and SIS-1803-A. Click here for an interactive map of current evacuation orders.

The following information comes from the Six Rivers National Forest:

Leader’s Intent: The Butler Fire is being managed with a full suppression strategy emphasizing firefighter and public safety.

Operational Update: Last night, hotshot crews successfully conducted 2 miles of defensive firing operations using pre-existing line, trails, and rock features to remove unburnt fuels below the ridgetop Boundary and Orleans Mountain Trails to secure line and hold the fire within the Lewis Creek drainage. Conditions were favorable for operations that assisted in meeting containment objectives without putting firefighters and critical values at risk.

The daytime marine influence moderated fire behavior and gentle evening winds pushed fire back down into Lewis Creek drainage. This operation helped protect the ridgeline from high-severity fire by reducing fuels up to 20 feet from the ridgetop in brush and 100 feet in timber. Conditions permitting, firefighters may continue to use nighttime defensive firing operations in coming days to help strengthen fire lines and moderate fire behavior.

Using firing operations and pulling back to natural barriers, such as the pre-existing containment features from previous fires, ridgetops, trails, roads, and rivers may increase fire size, but greatly reduces engagement risks. Firefighter and public safety remain the highest priority. Incident leadership is also committed to minimizing fire size and will be applying full suppression tactics.

Today, Nordheimer and Butler Structure groups will continue with structure protection. Orleans Mountain Lookout protection will also be a key focus. Crews plan to scout and prep from Nordheimer Campground up to the Boundary and Orleans Mountain Trails to link up with crews holding last night’s progress on the ridgetop. Until yesterday, air resources had been shared with other incidents across the north state, but the Butler Fire secured 2 helicopters for full-time air operations.

Strategic Objective: The Butler Fire is currently burning in a remote location through steep terrain (slopes up to 90%) riddled with snags and heavy brush. The area also holds considerable value to the local community. Access to the fire area is extremely difficult. There are no direct roads to the fire, and the sole ingress-egress for the communities of Forks of Salmon and Somes Bar and firefighters is the Salmon River Road. Leadership is strategically adapting tactics as weather and fire conditions evolve.

Closures & Evacuations: An Evacuation Order has been issued for SIS-1703 (no residents). Warnings are now in place for zone SIS-1704 (Butler Creek, Lewis Creek, Bloomer Mine residents and Nordheimer Campground), SIS-1707, and SIS 1803-A (no residents). There are currently no planned road closures or delays along Salmon River Road. However, local residents are advised to slow down and use caution with the increased firefighter presence in the area. Despite the Evacuation Warning, Nordheimer Campground remains open. Campers should monitor the situation and be prepared for conditions to change.

Weather & Fire Behavior: There is a 20% chance of dry thunderstorms this afternoon. Temperatures will be in the high 90s with northeast winds 5 to 7 mph. Fire behavior is moderate on ridgetop but changes as it slowly backs downslope through brush and timber in the Lewis Creek drainage.

Fire Safety & Prevention: While the Six Rivers National Forest is not currently under fire restrictions, firefighters are working on multiple incidents locally and across Northern California. Help firefighting resources focus on current incidents by preventing new ones. Please use caution with anything that can spark a fire when working or playing in the woods. Report suspected wildfires by calling 911.

Fire Information: For additional information and fire information resources visit www.linktr.ee/srffirepio.

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Bridge Fire

The Bridge Fire, burning on both sides of the Eel River near Alderpoint, has grown to 348 acres with roughly five percent containment. Evacuation warnings for the fire were lifted just after 11:30 a.m.

CalFire hasn’t provided additional information about the current fire response as of this writing, but a previous update indicates the fire is burning at a “moderate rate” with air and ground resources focused on protecting nearby structures.

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Dozens more wildfires are burning across California. More information about those fires can be found here.