LOWELL FIRE: Mandatory evacuations ordered

Even as firefighters got the upper hand on the Kyburz Fire, a new fire near Gold Run on Saturday was expected to start bringing smoke into Western Nevada on Sunday.

The fire has grown to 3,000 acres, Cal Fire says. Air attack crews have reported high tension power lines in the area.

Mandatory evacuations are being issued for Red Dog Rd at Green Horn Creek, Chalk Bluff Rd, You Bet Rd at Hanson Gravel Rd, and the northeast portion of Cascade Shores. By Saturday evening, the fire reached the Steephollow Creek area and is moving north. The fire is burning rapidly in a north direction in the Steep Hollow Drainage. The vehicle is a lifted 4×4 white jeep wrangler without a top, a black roll bar and no front doors that was in the Gold Run/Dutch Flat area around 2:30pm.

The fire was reported around 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon near Lowell Hill Road and Chicago Park Powerhouse Road in Nevada City.

The Placer and Nevada County Sheriff’s offices are asking the public for help in identifying a vehicle of interest that may have caused the fire, Cal Fire said.

PG&E said 7,200 customers in Nevada and Placer counties lost power for almost two hours.