A wildfire burning in the forest near Royal Gorge, west of Sugar Bowl and southwest of Truckee, has grown to 169 acres after breaking out Sunday afternoon.
The fire began just after 4 pm on July 7, in Tahoe National Forest about 20 miles west of North Lake Tahoe. Dubbed the Royal Fire, it had burned almost 170 acres as of 2 am Monday, and Cal Fire said that it had quickly determined that the cause was an escaped campfire, which was found by some hikers.
Due to some very remote terrain, the fire spread quickly Sunday night, and it is currently listed as 0% contained.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office put out an alert early Monday morning about a group of 13 teenage hikers who were believed missing in the area of the fire, but they were soon located and found safe. It's not clear if there is believed to be some connection between the hikers and the escaped campfire.
The hikers' cars had been found Sunday night parked near a trailhead. They range in age from 16 to 20.
On Sunday night, an evacuation warning was issued for five home on Soda Springs Road, as News 4 reports.
The Royal Fire was sending smoke into the air Sunday near Donner Pass that was visible from I-80. As the Chronicle reports, ash and debris was falling in Truckee on Monday night.
Due to the remoteness of the fire, it was being fought from the air, while ground crews were reportedly having difficulty accessing the area, as KOLO reports.
The National Forest Service is leading the firefight.
The largest fires currently burning in Northern California are the Shelly Fire (3,380 acres) burning near Shelly Lake in Siskiyou County, and the North Fire in Modoc County (4,380 acres). The Thompson Fire near Lake Oroville in Butte County is now 98% contained.
We'll update you as we learn more about the Royal Fire.
Photo courtesy of AlertWildfire/PG&E
