Loyalton Fire

Loyalton Fire
Part of the August 2020 California lightning siege
An enormous gray and brown smoke plume turns into white convective clouds as it rises from distant hills against a blue sky with high white clouds, with flat scrubland in the foreground.
The Loyalton Fire's smoke plume and pyrocumulus cloud on August 15, taken from the Plumas/Sierra county line near Calpine
Date(s)
  • August 14, 2020 (2020-08-14) –
  • August 26, 2020 (2020-08-26)
LocationLoyalton, California
Coordinates39°40′52″N 120°10′16″W / 39.681°N 120.171°W / 39.681; -120.171
Statistics[1]
Burned area47,029 acres (19,032 ha)
Impacts
Structures destroyed35
Ignition
CauseLightning
Map
A simple map of California shows a small flame icon in the area of the Loyalton Fire, near the California/Nevada border just north of the 'elbow' at Lake Tahoe.
A simple map of California shows a small flame icon in the area of the Loyalton Fire, near the California/Nevada border just north of the 'elbow' at Lake Tahoe.
The fire's general location in Northern California and eastern Nevada
Map
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5miles
Loyalton Fire
Loyalton Fire
Location of Loyalton Fire

The 2020 Loyalton Fire was a large wildfire in Lassen, Plumas and Sierra counties in California and Washoe County in Nevada. After it was ignited by lightning on August 14, 2020, the fire burned 47,029 acres (19,032 ha) in the Tahoe National Forest and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest before it was fully contained on August 26. The Loyalton Fire was notable for generating three fire tornadoes on August 15, necessitating first-of-their-kind warnings by the National Weather Service.

  1. ^ "Loyalton Fire Incident Overview". InciWeb. Archived from the original on 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2020-08-20.