Colfax River Fire map: Where are the wildfires in California?

CALIFORNIA has been engulfed by another wildfire that has burnt through acres of land and forced thousands to flee their homes.

But where is the River Fire and what happened in Colfax? Here’s all you need to know…

Where is the River Fire?

The River Fire raging across Northern California has forced thousands to evacuate their homes.

The wildfire has already burnt through 2,600 acres after it began at the Bear River Campground in Colfax.

It then spread to Nevada and Placer counties and has damaged over 80 structures since it started on Wednesday.

It comes as the US continues to battle against 96 large active fires, brought about by above-average temperatures, that have destroyed nearly 2 million acres.

What’s happening in Colfax?

The River Fire began in Colfax on Wednesday afternoon is continuing to spread despite the best efforts of emergency responders.

It is feared the strong winds from the dozens of fires raging across the nation could transport embers and spark other fires.

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

• The River Fire breaks out near the border between Nevada and Placer counties at the Bear River Campground in Colfax at around 2pm.

• Crews received a call of a vegetation fire and began evacuating campers who were situated along the river as it spread along both sides of the water.

• By 5pm, the fire was estimated at around 500 acres. Just 40 minutes later, it had doubled in size to 1,000 acres, with zero containment.

• The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office issued an Evacuation Order and closed Highway 174 due to the fire.

• The blaze ballooned to 1,400 acres just before 7.30pm. Nearly 40 structures had been destroyed in just a number of hours and over 4,000 were identified as at risk.

Thursday, August 5, 2021

• The River Fire continues to rage and has swelled in size to 2,400 acres as of 7am on Thursday morning.

• Firefighters attempt to contain the fire by taking advantage of the lower temperatures.

• FEMA authorized federal funds to help fight the fire, granting up to 75 per cent of funding for eligible costs. The State Operations Center was also activated to coordinate the response at around 9am.

• The Nevada County Office of Emergency Services said 4,298 residents were evacuation orders and Another 5,375 are under evacuation warnings.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday declared a state of emergency in three northern counties because of the River Fire and the Antelope Fire.

• As of Thursday evening, 858 firefighters were on assignment.

• At around 8pm, Cal Fire announced that two civilians and a firefighter had suffered minor injuries in the River Fire.

• The fire has grown and covers 2,600 acres, but was now 15 per cent contained. 76 structures were destroyed and another 20 were damaged.

• Fire crews worked through the night on Thursday to help strengthen containment lines ahead of gusty winds and higher temperatures forecast for Friday.