Wildfire closes California 108 south of Nev. line

MINDEN " A wildfire has forced the closure of a California highway just south of the Nevada state line.

State Highway 108 known as the Sonora Pass Road remains closed this morning about 1.5 miles west of its intersection with U.S. Highway 395 to about 26 miles east of Strawberry.

A lightning strike caused the fire Sunday afternoon in the Humboldt-Toyaibe National Forest about five miles northwest of the highway closure.

No injuries have been reported nor structures threatened. But Forest Service officials evacuated several hunters and campers as well as Marines training at the nearby Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center.

A half-dozen airtankers assisted firefighters until dusk. The blaze is burning in sagebrush and timber.