C-130 drops retardant; the air quality is horrendous and the plume still moves west and northwest.

From Yubanet.com:

July 26, 2015 at 5:34 PM Three air ambulances on the way to transport firefighters from the fire to medical care. The firefighters are in a safe zone, but are waiting for thei way out to be cooled. Per CAL FIRE:_PIO: 4 firefighters sustained burn injuries on the #LowellFire. They have been airlifted & paramedics are assessing their condition.

July 26, 2015 at 4:49 PM Increased activity again on the Lowell Fire, but additional air support is on the incident.

July 26, 2015 at 4:04 PM Additional hand crews are being inserted from Red Dog and You Bet. That’s good news, it means fire behavior is not as erratic as yesterday.

The plume that dominated the fire yesterday is much more subdued now, another indicator of moderated fire activity.

July 26, 2015 at 3:01 PM VLAT 911 is over the fire, assisting the 8 other tankers, the 5 helicopters and the close to 1,000 firefighters on the ground.

July 26, 2015 at 2:34 PM

Via Nevada County OES: CALFIRE reports no significant fire spread at this time. Crews continue to attack from the air. No big runs, and the line is holding.

Photo montage from the Lowell fire:

Monday will be a telling day, information indicates.  I have still not heard a cause for the fire, though I suspect it’s man-made via campers or locals with fireworks, open flames, etc.

BZ