A Monday afternoon fire near Truckee charred 84 acres of a popular recreation trail.
The incident, which has been named the Hirschdale Fire by the US Forest Service, broke out near the head of the Boca Townsite Interpretive Trail. Flames destroyed several interpretive signs along the trail.
Firefighters from multiple agencies battled the fire on the ground while four air tankers and two helicopters helped douse the flames from above.
“And with Boca Reservoir being right adjacent to the fire, it was really great to have the helicopters because they could to air drops immediately and that really helped us out,” explained Debby Broback of the US Forest Service.
The fire was declared 30 percent contained at the end of the day, and most of the flames were out. Crews were planning to stay on scene all night as a precaution.
The cause was under investigation.
Firefighters say the dampening effect of the monsoon rain the area received a few weeks ago is now gone.
“We’re back to drought condtitions,” said Broback. “Don’t let anybody be fooled by that quick rain we had during the thunderstorms.”
