Fire crews were battling 35 blazes in the Intermountain area ranging in size from a quarter-acre to more than 600 acres. Residents evacuated from Big Eddy Estates near Fall River Mills and along VN Lane in Hat Creek. The Susanville Interagency Fire Center (SIFC) is dispatching ground forces and aircraft to nearly 100 reported fires in the wake of widespread thunderstorms over the past two days. Lightning detecting equipment showed nearly 1,800 lightning strikes in northeast California over the past 24 hours, with 96 fires reported by mid morning, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009. Saturday evening lightning activity was concentrated in a swath extending northwest from Susanville, but strikes were recorded across the SIFC region. There were 43 reported fires on the Lassen National Forest, 40 reported blazes on lands protected by the CAL FIRE Lassen-Modoc-Plumas Unit, 14 fires on Bureau of Land Management public lands, and two reported fires in Lassen Volcanic National Park. The largest incident is the Dodge Complex, two fires burning about 60 miles northeast of Susanville, about five miles from the community of Madeline. The fires, dubbed Mendiboure and Dodge, have burned about 1,500 acres of grass, brush, juniper and mountain mahogany on public lands managed by the BLM. Some ranch structures were threatened; none were damaged. By early Monday morning, humidity levels reached between 40-70 percent, aiding firefighting efforts. (less info)