Royal Fire burning 12 miles southwest of Truckee now 168 acres, missing hiking group found
Submitted by paula on Mon, 07/08/2024 - 8:02am
UPDATE 5 p.m. Monday: Air Attack is reporting the Royal Fire at 154 acres due to more accurate mapping. There has been no change in containment but the fire 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.
PLACER COUNTY, Calif. - The Royal Fire has now burned 168 acres of timber in the area of the North Fork of the American River at Royal Gorge. It is burning in the Tahoe National Forest 12 miles southwest of Truckee and has no containment lines at this time.
There was an overnight search for 13 missing hikers ages 16-20 within the fire zone. The Placer County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue and helicopter were searching for them, and at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, the helicopter located them. Search and rescue crews are being inserted into the forest to hike out with them.
Cal Fire NEU reports active fire behavior overnight.