Perimeter Fire Held Under One Acre in Grass Valley

GRASS VALLEY — A vegetation fire that broke out in rural Grass Valley on Wednesday morning was stopped at just under an acre, one day after a larger blaze a few miles away forced a brief evacuation order. Fire officials mapped the Perimeter Fire at a final size of 0.97 acres by early afternoon. No evacuation orders or warnings were issued.

Crews were dispatched at about 10:10 AM to the 22400 block of Perimeter Road in southern Nevada County, according to a running account of radio traffic and agency updates published by The Union. The fire was producing light smoke at the time, and one structure was reported threatened. Incident Command initially mapped it at a quarter of an acre. Officials were investigating whether a lawn mower had started the fire earlier in the morning.

The fire grew quickly at first, reaching about an acre within a quarter hour as it burned at a moderate rate of spread through a grassy wooded area. Helicopters began dropping retardant within roughly 10 minutes of the first dispatch, and an air tanker loaded and held at Grass Valley in case crews needed it, according to Air Attack. Ground crews stopped the spread before 11 AM, when Incident Command reported the fire holding at 1.5 acres and released air resources. Firefighters then began mop-up, and a final mapping early in the afternoon put the burned area at 0.97 acres. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded with the Grass Valley Police Department in case road closures or evacuations became necessary, and that neither proved needed.

“Firefighters along with Higgins Fire Protection District are holding the Perimeter Fire in South Nevada County at 1.5 acres,” wrote CAL FIRE’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit on Facebook at about 11:22 AM. “Firefighters responded to the report of a vegetation fire off Perimeter Road possibly started by lawn mowing earlier in the morning. Firefighters are building a containment line and mopping up hot spots in the fire.”

The fire was the second in south Nevada County in two days. The Combie Fire started Tuesday off Highway 49 near Lake of the Pines, burned 16.8 acres, and reached full containment overnight. It drew an evacuation order for one zone and a warning for another, both lifted the same evening.

Hotter weather is on the way. The National Weather Service office in Sacramento forecasts moderate to major heat risk in Nevada County beginning Thursday, July 30, and continuing through the weekend, with extreme heat risk in the southwestern corner of the county, including Penn Valley, Lake Wildwood, and Smartsville. The Weather Service advises residents to avoid parking on dry grass and to avoid running outdoor power tools such as lawn mowers and weed eaters.

The Sheriff’s Office again urged residents to enroll in Nevada County Alerts, the emergency notification system it operates with the county Office of Emergency Services. The system sends warnings by phone call, text message, and email, and residents may register up to five addresses, including home, work, and school. Sign-ups are available at readynv.sircom.org/subscribe.