Submitted by Sierra Coon

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, prompting National Park Service officials to close the park. 

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 number one priority. Her second goal is to protect the park's resources and many historic buildings. 

"I'd like to commend my staff for their resiliency," Worley said. "Many of them went through the Dixie Fire, and I have been amazed at their professionalism and strength. We're also grateful for our concessioner and park partners who have also been impacted by this wildfire." 

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 the summer of 2021. Staff are scrambling to save historic artifacts stored in the 1927 Loomis Museum. 

Drakesbad Lodge and Juniper Lake have been closed in the eastern portion of the park since the Dixie Fire. 

Worley said the entire North State network of federal agencies, including the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and other National Park Service units such as Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, have come forward to support the park. 

"There's such a love for Lassen, and if you read some social media posts, everybody's just torn up," she said. "It's a special park with unique features found nowhere else in the world, and for so many people, this is their favorite national park. We'll work

 to reopen as soon as possible and rebuild as needed." 

Information about the Park Fire is available on InciWeb at  https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/calnf-park-fire.   

Visitors and residents are encouraged to follow county evacuation warnings and orders. 

Evacuation warnings and orders are in place in four counties: Butte, Tehama, Shasta, and Plumas. 

Highway 89 through the 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 the local communities. 

We will communicate additional restrictions, closures, and other park-specific information via our park’s website (www.nps.gov/lavo)

and social media platforms.  

 For the latest information regarding evacuation orders, check the local sheriff’s office’s communication channels or call 211. For information about the fire itself and management of firefighting operations, visit https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/7/24/park-fire. 

www.nps.gov For more information about Lassen Volcanic National Park, please visit www.nps.gov/lavo; 

e-mail us; find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube @LassenNPS.