Firefighters Hike Into Tahoe National Forest To Stop Lightning-Caused Tree Fire
NEVADA COUNTY (CBS13) – Firefighters had to hike into the Tahoe National Forest on Thursday to battle a tree fire that was apparently started by lightning.
California saw more than 66,000 lightning strikes across the state Wednesday night into Thursday.
The barrage was one of the most extreme seen in years – with about a third of them being cloud-to-ground strikes, officials with the National Lightning Detection Network said.
A vast majority of the lightning strikes were registered down in Southern California, but Northern California also saw some action.
Case in point, Cal Fire and the US Forest Service announced that they responded to a lightning-caused tree fire above Donner Lake on Thursday evening. Firefighters had to hike for about a mile until they reached the fire on Schallenberger Ridge.
Crews had to fell the tree to fully put out the flames, Cal Fire says.
Firefighters will continue to be on high alert in case any lingering problems remain after the thunderstorm.