Caldor Fire eases slightly as weather improves; Dixie Fire rages on
SACRAMENTO — As weather improved overnight at the Caldor Fire in Eldorado National Forest, the blaze slowed naturally, marking a departure from its explosive growth early in the week.
But further north, crews at the Dixie Fire did not have the same luck. The blaze — California’s second-largest fire ever — raged through the night into Thursday morning. Propelled by sustained wind and low humidity, the fire grew 43,000 acres between Wednesday and Thursday morning.
Much of Northern California has remained under a red flag warning since Tuesday afternoon due to high wind levels and low humidity. The weather has pushed blazes across the northern part of the state to expand rapidly, most dramatically at the Caldor Fire, which grew from 6,500 acres Monday morning to over 65,000 acres Thursday morning. The red flag warning was set to lift at the Caldor Fire at 11 a.m. Thursday.
The Caldor Fire grew less than 3,000 acres overnight into Thursday morning, which was low compared to the explosive growth of the last few days. Cal Fire attributed the fire’s slowing to higher humidity levels.
But Cal Fire warned that the blaze, which is 0% contained, is likely to pick back up again Thursday afternoon due to weather shifts.
“Fire growth was moderated overnight due to increased humidity,” Cal Fire wrote in a Thursday morning incident briefing. “For the next operational period fire behavior will increase in the afternoon when the inversion layer lifts. Expect multiple new spot fires in the North and Northeast areas of the incident, causing potential fire growth.”
The Caldor Fire is burning near populated areas such as Pollock Pines, Grizzly Flats and Kyburz, and has forced over 20,000 residents to evacuate. Cal Fire has not yet released estimates for structure damage, but The Sacramento Bee confirmed that the fire destroyed homes, a church and an elementary school in Grizzly Flats.
In recognition of the increased threat to populated areas, Cal Fire moved 30 engines from the more remote Dixie Fire to the Caldor Fire Wednesday morning.
“We are moving resources around as needed. ... It’s a surge, kind of, to where the greatest need is,” Cal Fire director Thom Porter said.
Still, Porter acknowledged that the Dixie Fire is “exceedingly resistant to control” and “not going to end anytime soon.”
Dixie Fire
Gusty conditions created significant spotting at the Dixie Fire overnight, pushing it to 678,369 acres (1,060 square miles). The fire now spans an area larger than Sacramento County and over double the size of the city of Los Angeles.
Thousands of personnel are battling the wildfire as it burns primarily in Butte, Plumas and Lassen counties. Despite significant growth, crews were able to push containment to 35% Wednesday morning, up 2 percentage points from the previous day.
Growth at the blaze overnight was propelled by significant wind and low humidity, Cal Fire said in a morning incident report. A red flag warning remains in effect for a portion of the fire until 8 p.m. Thursday, and crews expect to see “significant fire activity” through the day.
“Expect that you’re going have continued activity today like what they were seeing overnight,” fire behavior analyst Brian Newman told crews in a Thursday morning incident briefing. “Still expect activity today just because of the dry wind that’s around us, the dry fuels and the receptiveness of everything; it’s allowing the fire to keep challenging lines.”
Throughout the week the blaze has crept closer to the city of Susanville, the seat of Lassen County and home to around 15,000 residents. But a shift in wind Wednesday kept the blaze at bay for the time being.
A major spot fire to the east of the main blaze is also threatening the town of Janesville, which is home to just under 1,500 people. Winds caused the spot fire to expand significantly Wednesday, and crews are struggling to contain it as it moves west toward the main portion of the blaze.
“The fire near Janesville is growing rapidly in the dry sage and grassland fuel,” wrote Cal Fire in the Thursday morning report. “... both West Zone and East Zone crews and equipment continue to respond.”
The Dixie Fire has destroyed more than 1,217 buildings, at least 649 of which were homes, according to Cal Fire. It largely leveled the town of Greenville earlier this month.
But in what appeared to be a positive sign Wednesday, officials lifted a large number of evacuation orders across Plumas and Tehama counties, allowing some residents to return home for the first time in a month. Areas such as Chester, West Almanor, the Almanor Peninsula and Hamilton Branch are now under an evacuation warning, rather than an order.
Similar plans for the town of Westwood were abruptly scrapped Wednesday afternoon due to fire activity in the area.