More fire coverage out of rural northern California, including two prisons where the fire is bearing down

Let me lead with the brilliant Hailey Branson-Potts' story out of Susanville, California, the county seat of Lassen County, population 34,895.  Branson-Potts writes for the Los Angeles Times, and she regularly reports out of rural northern California.  She recently reported stories here and here out of Lassen County, so she knows it well.  Remember that Susanville is home to two state prisons, one set for closure in 2022.  Here's the part of her story that touches on the presence of 5,400 prisoners in the literal line of fire, eight miles east of central Susanville at High Desert State Prison (with 3,220 inmates, it is at 139% capacity) and California Correctional Center (with 2,187 inmates, at 65% capacity).  The initial quote is from Dana Simas, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, about plans as of Wednesday afternoon:  

At this time, there are no directives to evacuate, and the institutions are in no immediate danger. We are also monitoring air quality and working with our public health and health care partners to ensure the safety and wellness of our population and staff.

Branson-Potts continues:   

Simas said the state corrections department is in “constant communication” with Cal Fire and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, as well as local officials, regarding the Dixie fire. Officials also are monitoring air quality and is providing N95 masks to staff and inmates at both prisons.

The institutions, Simas said, “have long-standing response plans in place to ensure continued daily operations, as well as the safety of our staff and incarcerated population through natural or other disasters.”

Simas said she could not discuss details about where and how prisoners would be relocated during an evacuation “for safety and security purposes.”

In other fascinating news regarding the prison closure, there is this about a court ruling out of Lassen County that could--and let me emphasize the could--be a game changer re the planned closure:

Earlier this month, a Lassen County Superior Court judge granted the city of Susanville a temporary restraining order halting the state’s plans to close the facility.

“It does not appear to the Court that the necessary requirements imposed upon the executive branch in facilitating the decision to close the California Correctional Center have been complied with,” Judge Mark Nareau wrote in his decision to grant the temporary restraining order. “The executive branch of the government of the state of California, like the citizens it serves, must comply with the law.”

In another story, Branson-Potts reports with Lila Siedman out of El Dorado County, where the Caldor Fire ignited over the weekend (as discussed in yesterday's post and in this coverage by Capital Public Radio) .  

The Caldor fire in El Dorado County has exploded to more than 50,000 acres, destroying a school, a church and numerous other structures.

Thousands of rural residents fled the flames, and two civilians were seriously injured Tuesday as the fire tore through rugged terrain with zero containment.

Caldor fire response spokesperson Chris Vestal said the blaze exhibited unusually high flame lengths and rapid spread. An incident report described its behavior as “unprecedented.”

* * *

It was at about 1,300 acres Monday afternoon when it began surging because of changes in atmospheric conditions.

Pushed by gusty winds, the fire hurtled north, and “unfortunately in the path of that fire has been communities,” said Mike Blankenheim, unit chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Amador-El Dorado Unit.

Lastly, the Cache Fire started this afternoon in Lake County.  A tweet with some photos of the destruction there is here.  The area near Hayfork, in Trinity County, is also on fire. 

What I'm hoping we'll get in the near future is a sense of the extent to which, as new fires have emerged, limited resources are moved from more remote and rural areas (e.g., Lassen, Plumas, and Lake counties) to more populous ones (e.g., El Dorado County).