Fire burns west of Nevada City, prompting evacuations

Plumes of smoke rose from the hills west of Nevada City where the Pleasant fire ignited Saturday afternoon at 2:31 pm.

The fire burned through 70 acres in two hours and is 0% contained, said Robert Foxworthy, information officer with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The burn area is about 65 miles northeast of Sacramento.

The fire is burning in the area of Owl Creek Road and Lost Ranch Way. It has caused several road closures and threatened structures, Foxworthy said. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation order for McKitrick Ranch Road on Saturday afternoon.

Local news site Yubanet.com reported that the fire started when a car went up in flames, but Foxworthy could not confirm that report.

As of 5 p.m. the local weather was 94 degrees, with 15% humidity and winds at 3 mph.

Also in Northern California, the Six Rivers fire in Humboldt and Trinity was 81% contained Saturday morning after raging for about two weeks and burning 26,000 acres. Firefighters were able to quickly contain the blaze on Wednesday and Thursday, when there was little fire activity.