Single Publication

Gold Complex Update July 24, 2024—7:00 a.m. 

Quick Facts 

• Acres: Mill, 2,802; Smith, 56 
• Containment: Mill 0%; Smith 0%
• Crews: 15 
• Helicopters: 8  
• Engines: 40 
• Dozers: 13 
• Total resources: 491 

California Complex Interagency Incident Management Team 10 (CCIIMT) took command of the Gold Complex (Smith and Mill Fires) at 0600 on July 24, 2024. 

Operational update 

Smith Fire: Line around the Smith Fire held overnight, and crews will focus today on improving those lines and holding them through today’s predicted stronger winds. 

Mill Fire: Aggressive 24-hour suppression activities continued, with crews focusing on building dozer and handline to protect structures and critical power lines. Night-capable helicopters were utilized overnight to help cool spot fires. As of this morning, much of the fire has line around it. However, these lines need considerable improvement and work before the fire will be considered contained. Winds are anticipated to test lines today, and evacuations are expected to be held through the day. 

Engines will be pre-positioned around buildings in the communities of Gold Mountain and Portola throughout the day in case structures become threatened. A considerable influx of resources arrived to the fire this morning. 

Weather 

A cooling trend is anticipated to begin today and is expected to persist through the weekend. A chance of thunderstorms remains across the fire area, with gusty, erratic winds which can cause unpredictable fire spread. Typical afternoon winds on Wednesday are expected to increase, with gusts up to 30 mph expected. Temperatures are expected to remain above 90 degrees, with minimum relative humidities between 27 and 32 percent.