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Small fires sparked in Tahoe National Forest

David Bunker
Sierra Sun

Lightning sparked five small fires in the Tahoe National Forest on Monday. Fire crews quickly contained each burn.

The largest blaze was north of Milton Reservoir, which is on the line dividing Sierra and Nevada counties. It was contained after it grew to about three acres.

Other small fires burned near Stampede Reservoir and Weber Lake, said Deborah Urich of the Tahoe National Forest.



Fire crews were still on high alert because of the possibility of lightning on today.

“I think after 2 p.m. we’re expecting a lot of activity to pick up,” said Urich.



Two other lightning strikes hit trees near Fordyce Lake west of Truckee. Those smoldering fires were extinguished by fire crews, said Urich.

In Northern Nevada, more than 1,000 firefighters were battling a series of lightning-sparked fires that had burned nearly 100,000 acres by today, forcing evacuations, temporarily closing sections of U.S. Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50 and scorching part of the training grounds at a state fire academy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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