The Elephant Fire northeast of Loyalton grew by more than 2,000 acres on Sunday and stood at 6,436 acres while remaining 5% contained Sunday morning.
That jump put the fire squarely in the path of places fire officials said could be affected next, including Scott Road, Chilcoot and Highway 395 near Hallelujah Junction. Lassen County also issued an evacuation order for Zone LAS-451-A, while warnings stayed in place for Zone LAS-671-B, Zone PLU-114 and Zone PLU-104-A. For residents watching the fire from the California-Nevada border, the number that matters most is still the same: the blaze is large, moving through dry fuels, and not yet meaningfully contained.
The fire started near Highway 49 northeast of Loyalton, close to the Sierra and Plumas County line, and has been burning through grass, brush, timber and standing dead trees. Cal Fire Incidents said the blaze had burned 4,484 acres and was 0% contained before that later Sunday assessment, then listed it at 2,300 acres and 5% contained as of Saturday night. The latest update shows how quickly the fire is still changing, even after containment has started to edge upward.
Cooler temperatures and more cloud cover helped moderate fire behavior during the day, but officials said the fight was still being complicated by ridgetop winds, dry fuels and steep terrain. The fire is also working through portions of the 2020 Loyalton Fire scar, where hazardous snags and heavy dead fuels can slow direct attacks and make some ground harder to reach safely.
Nevada Incident Management Team 3 Team 1 is expected to assume command Monday evening, but the next phase of the response is likely to be defined less by a transfer of command than by whether crews can hold the line before conditions shift again. With more than 6,400 acres already burned and evacuation notices in place across multiple zones, the immediate question is not whether the Elephant Fire will keep testing the border communities around Loyalton — it is how much farther it can move before crews get the upper hand.
