UPDATE July 11, 7:01 p.m. — The Royal Fire is now 46% contained. Placer County Sheriff’s Office has lifted evacuation warnings for The Cedars. The Forest Service closure order remains for the Royal Fire perimeter and surrounding area for public and firefighter safety.

Overnight, the Tahoe National Forest is transitioning out of unified command with Placer County Sheriff’s Office, CALFIRE/Placer County Fire and Placer County Office of Emergency Services on the Royal Fire incident. Tahoe National Forest would like to thank all agencies for the support and resource assistance.

UPDATE July 10, 6:11 p.m. — The Royal Fire has not grown and is now 30% contained. Crews have made good progress and successfully constructed a combination of dozer line and handline all the way around the fire perimeter. Fire behavior has been moderate with minimal smoke output.

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The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

UPDATE July 10, 8:30 a.m. — The Royal Fire has not grown overnight and has held within its footprint for over 24 hours. Yesterday, ground crews had success with handline construction. Containment was achieved along sections of the left and right flanks of the fire. The incident continues to be supported by significant aviation assets. The fire is located in steep and rugged terrain that is difficult to access by ground. Yesterday, several crews were flown by helicopter into the incident and have hiked to remote locations to engage in containment measures.

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Hot and dry conditions persist over the fire area this week. 15-25 mph gusty south-westerly winds are expected this afternoon. Fire behavior overnight was active with backing, flanking and single tree torching.

There are 396 individual personnel assigned to the Royal Fire with resources including 7 Type 1 helicopters including 3 of which are night-capable water-droppers, 1 Type 2 helicopter, 1 air attack, 1 Type 1 24-hour hoist-capable rescue helicopter, 24 crews, 16 engines, 5 dozers, 7 water tenders and several support staff (overhead).

UPDATE July 9, 5:04 p.m. — Due to successful firefighting efforts, the Royal Fire has reached 15% containment and 215 acres, according to an update from U.S. Forest Service.

Progress has been made with handline construction along both flanks of the fire. Dozers continue to work the head of the fire, reinforcing their dozer line. Air resources continue to work the fire day and night.

Today, fire activity has been active with flanking, single tree torching and backing. The fire continues to hold within its footprint.

UPDATE July 9, 2 p.m. — According to the latest update from Lieutenant Ty Conners with the Placer County Office of Emergency Management, the fire has not grown and is staying within the footprint. There are no additional evacuation orders or warnings.

“Right now, there is no additional concerns,” Conners said in the video posted to Facebook.

Additionally, Roger Caballero, air support for the Royal Fire, said federal Hotshot crews and CALFire hand crews are being inserted thanks to work done yesterday to clear a helispot.

“Due to the steep and inaccessible terrain, for the first couple operational periods we worked really hard to focus on our aviation response for the fire, and during the first two operational periods really focused in on the fixed wing for the retardant and the helicopter water droppers to keep this thing as small as possible and get the ground resources in,” Caballero said.

He added that water-dropping aircraft will continue to support ground crews.

“A big benefit to this incident has been our night-capable water-dropping aircraft, which the state has provided, and night aerial supervision as well. So we continue the aviation operations into the evening hours, which has been a big contributor to keeping this where it’s been the past couple of days, and hopefully where it stays moving forward,” Caballero said.

UPDATE July 9, 10 a.m. — The Royal Fire is currently sitting at 200 acres and has 0% containment, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire did not experience significant growth overnight. The increase in acreage is due to more accurate mapping.

According to a Facebook update from the U.S. Forest Service, there has been little progress on containment due to extremely steep and difficult-to-access terrain. The fire is currently boxed in with retardant and aerial resources continue to monitor and attack the incident while ground crews continue to work on building handling and dozer line around the fire.

The Tahoe National Forest has issued a closure for the fire footprint and surrounding fire areas for the safety of the public and firefighter personnel.

UPDATE July 8, 5:51 p.m. — Due to more accurate mapping, Air Attack is reporting the Royal Fire at 154 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service. There has been no change in containment.

The fire has continued to hold within its footprint throughout the day. Tankers have boxed the fire in with retardant. Three Type 1 helicopters have been performing water drops throughout the day. Crews have gained access to the incident and constructed a handline across the head, the latest update states.

“Today we had a good day on the fire. The fire remained in its current footprint that we left it in yesterday, though it was active here along the flanks of the fire,” U.S. Forest Service operations section chief Don Fregulia said Monday evening in a video update. “Very steep country, very rocky, very unforgiving country.”

An evacuation warning remains for the Cedars area, no additional evacuation warnings or orders were issued today.

UPDATE July 8, 11:00 a.m. — Falcon 30, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, located the group of 13 hikers who were unaccounted for throughout the night, according to the latest update on the Placer County Sheriff’s Facebook. Their vehicles were located by deputies and fire officials doing checks near the Royal fire on the evening it broke out.

Deputies were able to get in touch with family members who confirmed the group planned to hike and camp along Palisades Creek trail, which is made up of steep and difficult terrain. The group, which ranges in age from 16-20, was located approximately two miles away from the fire. They set up camp along the trail overnight. They are all okay. Two members of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team were dropped into the area by Falcon 30. They will hike out with the group, away from the fire.

UPDATE July 8, 10:20 a.m. — The Town of Truckee Office of Emergency Services has been in contact with the Incident Command and is coordinating with both Placer County and Nevada County Offices of Emergency Services, according to a post from the Truckee Police Department.

“We want to remind our community to sign up for emergency notifications,” the post states.

To sign up for alerts, go to the regional emergency alert locator at TahoeAlerts.com to identify which alert system you should be signed up for. CodeRED is the emergency alert system utilized within Town of Truckee limits. Go to http://www.townoftruckee.gov/alerts to sign up now.

Authorities will use Zone Names to notify residents which areas are under an evacuation warning or order. In the event of an evacuation incident, knowing your zone could save time when minutes count. Visit the Genasys Protect website to find out what zone you are in.

Air quality in Truckee is currently moderate, but it is important to stay aware of the conditions around you, and each day it’s smoky outside, you should check the air quality index by visiting http://www.airnow.gov.

UPDATE July 8, 8:30 a.m. — The latest mapping shows the Royal Fire acreage at 170 acres, according to an update from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

“This fire is sitting in super remote terrain with steep, unforgiving cliffs and a ton of granite. This area is known for world-class kayaking and hiking,” said Deputy Operations Manager for the Royal Fire Nolan Hale said in a video update posted to Facebook.

There are over 300 personnel assigned to the fire, Hale said. Additionally, several resource orders are still outstanding and are currently inbound to the incident.

Lieutenant Ty Conners with the Placer County Office of Emergency Management said the missing hikers have been located and search and rescue members are being inserted to hike them out to safety.

“Right now, we are just in the preplanning phase working with our unified command agencies,” Conners said in the video update. “The fire is still relatively far away. Again, we’re figuring out the fire behavior. We are going to be doing some preplanning.”

An evacuation warning remains in effect for the Cedars, but the fire is still far from that area. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office will give plenty of notification if additional evacuation warnings are needed or if there is a need to issue evacuation orders.

UPDATE July 8, 7:20 a.m. — The Placer County Sheriff’s helicopter located a group of hikers believed to be those that were missing. Search and rescue crews will be inserted to hike out with them, according to a Twitter post from the Sheriff’s office.

UPDATE July 8, 6:30 a.m. — The Placer County Sheriff’s Office has identified 13 missing hikers within the fire zone, according to a Facebook post from Monday morning. The hikers range in age from 16-20 and are believed to be together. Placer County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue is out working to locate them. The helicopter will also be up searching.

According to Cal Fire data, the Royal Fire is 168 acres and is 0% contained. There was active fire behavior overnight and Cal Fire air and ground resources have been assigned to the fire.

SODA SPRINGS, Calif. July 7, 8:30 p.m. — Several homes have been evacuated as the first responders fight to get a hold on a fire that started around 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 7 near Royal Gorge.

Placer County Sheriff Office and U.S. Forest Service – Tahoe National Forest officials have closed Soda Springs Rd from 1.25 miles south of the intersection with Serene Rd to the intersection of Soda Springs Rd and Forest Service Rd 6001-35 in response to the Royal Fire. Homes on Soda Springs Rd. have been evacuated.

As of 8:30 p.m., the size of the fire has been recorded at 54 acres.

Law enforcement is evacuating recreation areas near the incident and the cause remains under investigation.

Get updated evacuation information here.