Lassen Volcanic National Park reports it is closed due to the encroaching Park Fire.
Three years after the Dixie Fire consumed much of the eastern portion of Lassen Volcanic National Park, the massive Park Fire is approaching the park’s western edge.
Visitors have been evacuated from all campgrounds, and reservations have been canceled. All park employees have been evacuated from park housing and their homes in the community, most staying in hotels.
Park Superintendent Rose Worley, who took over leadership for the park three months ago, said employee accountability and the safety and well-being of employees and visitors is her No. 1 priority. Her second goal is to protect the park’s resources and many historic buildings.
Fire officials speculate that the fire has potential to reach both Manzanita Lake and Mineral Headquarters. These are areas that were not hit during the Dixie Fire.
The historic district at park headquarters in Mineral in the southwest portion of the park includes structures built by the California Conservation Corps in the 1930s. On the northwest side of the park is the pristine Manzanita Lake campground and historic district that was spared by the Dixie Fire during summer 2021. Staff are scrambling to save historic artifacts stored in the 1927 Loomis Museum.
Drakesbad Lodge and Juniper Lake, in the eastern portion of the park, have been closed since the Dixie Fire.
Park personnel encourage visitors and residents to follow county evacuation warnings and orders, which are currently in place in four counties: Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas. In Plumas County, zone PLU-040 was moved to evacuation warning status July 26. This zone covers the area north of Concow Road and Howells Road south of Highway 36 and west of State Route 89 and Seneca Road. Current evacuation information is available on the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Highway 89 through Lassen Volcanic National Park is currently open only to through traffic for the purposes of evacuation. Recreational travel is prohibited to keep the road clear for evacuating residents of the park and local communities. In addition, the California Department of Transportation District 2 reports that Highway 36 is closed westbound from the junction with Highway 89 near Chester.
Information provided by Lassen Volcanic National Park, Plumas County Sheriff’s Office, California Department of Transportation District 2
