YREKA, Calif., August 30, 2025 — The Blue Fire started on August 26th after several days of thunderstorms brought hundreds of lightning strikes to the Klamath National Forest. The fire is about four miles south of Seiad
on Walker Ridge, burning in tall brush and snags from the 2014 Happy Camp Complex.
The Blue Fire is 200 acres and remained active on Friday while air tankers and helicopters worked to limit growth and keep it out of the Grider Creek drainage. Resources on the ground put in direct fireline where possible and worked on
preparing roads for use as indirect containment line. CAL FIRE provided additional horsepower with a strike team of engines, firefighter hand crews from the Siskiyou Unit, as well as hand crews from out of the area. Overhead personnel assessed options for
indirect containment line to keep the fire as small as possible.
Increased wind in the early evening caused an uptick in fire behavior on the Blue and nearby Bravo fires. The wind died down around nightfall, moderating fire behavior. As of Saturday morning, the Blue Fire had not reached Walker Creek
(east of the fire) and had not crossed the ridge of Blue Mountain (west of the fire).
California Interagency Complex Incident Management Team 1, who is managing the Dillon Fire on the Six Rivers National Forest, will assume command of the Blue Fire on Sunday morning.
Today fire personnel will continue direct line construction where possible, while evaluating options for indirect line placement. Air tankers and helicopters will support firefighters on the ground with retardant and bucket drops as smoke
conditions allow.
An Evacuation Warning is effect for zone SIS-1118, south of Seiad. Grider Creek Campground and a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail are in the Evacuation Warning area.
Evacuations
Evacuation Warnings are in effect for the Blue Fire. For current information on evacuations, monitor
https://www.facebook.com/SiskiyouCountySheriff.
Pacific Crest Trail
The Blue Fire is burning about two miles west of mile 1649 of the Pacific Crest Trail, which passes through the Evacuation Warning area. Hikers are strongly encouraged to bypass this section of the Trail.
Weather
Dry weather will continue through early next week. Afternoon temperatures will be above normal, then temperatures will trend hotter early next week. Expect low humidities and breezy to gusty afternoon and evening breezes each day through
Monday. The threat for afternoon and early evening thunderstorms could enter the picture next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Information
For up-to-date information on the Blue Fire and other lightning fires on the Forest, check the Klamath National Forest Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/KlamathNF and Inciweb at
https://inciweb.wildfire.gov .
Fire Restrictions
Folks heading into the Klamath National Forest for the Labor Day weekend are reminded that
fire restrictions are in effect. This means that campfires are only permitted in designated recreation areas and wilderness. Other activities that could spark a wildfire are restricted as part of this forest order. Please visit
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/klamath/alerts/fire-restrictions to view the list of designated recreation areas and the complete list of restricted activities before visiting the Forest.https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/klamath/alerts/fire-restrictions
.