Los Angeles Times

A f irestorm of spending

Next decade of blazes will cost billions, says Brown: ‘We’re going to have to adapt.’

- By Jaclyn Cosgrove, John Myers, Louis Sahagun and Sonali Kohli

Large, destructiv­e wildfires are likely to cost the state billions over the next decade.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — As fire crews struggled to gain containmen­t on more than a dozen wildfires raging across California on Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown told reporters that large, destructiv­e fires would probably continue and cost the state billions of dollars over the next decade.

“The more serious prediction­s of warming and fires to occur later in the century, 2040 or 2050, they’re now occurring in real time,” Brown said at a news conference at the state’s emergency operations center outside Sacramento.

State officials said more than 13,000 firefighte­rs are on duty fighting 16 large fires that have burned a total of 320,000 acres and displaced more than 32,000 residents. Seventeen states have offered assistance to California during the last week, sending help from as far away as Maine and Florida. Though the state has the resources now to combat the large wildfires, fighting them and keeping people safe will become harder, Brown said.

“Things will get much

in the next five years as the business cycle turns negative and the fires continue,” Brown said.

New wildfires broke out Wednesday, including two threatenin­g homes in El Dorado County, further straining the efforts of overloaded firefighte­rs who are trying to keep up.

The Omega and Bumper fires sparked evacuation­s, with residents being directed to a shelter at the Diamond Springs Firefighte­rs Memorial Hall at 3734 China Garden Road. The blazes had burned 120 acres west of Pilot Hill and east of Frenchtown, respective­ly, and officials were hitting f lames with water-dropping aircraft.

Brown, who met with top fire and emergency response officials, said the state would spend whatever is needed to combat the blazes. But he said the current conditions are part of a long cycle that began with the rapid rise in greenhouse gases caused by human activity.

“People are doing everything they can, but nature is very powerful and we’re not on the side of nature,” he said. “We’re fighting nature with the amount of material we’re putting in the environmen­t, and that material traps heat. And the heat fosters fires.”

The Eel fire, which broke out in a remote area Tuesday afternoon in northern Mendocino County, was 0% contained after burning 1,000 acres as of Wednesday evening, said Punky Moore, a spokeswoma­n with the U.S. Forest Service.

The fire is traveling through quick-burning grass and oak in a rural area of rolling hills that can become steep and difficult to access, Cal Fire Deputy Chief Scott McLean said.

“It’s going to keep growing, hopefully not very much more, but we’ll find out,” he said Wednesday morning.

Another blaze that ignited Tuesday in Mono County north of Mammoth Lakes, called the Owens fire, was 312 acres and 80% contained as of Wednesday evening, authoritie­s said.

The largest and deadliest of the wildfires currently burning in California is the Carr fire, which as of Wednesday evening had burned 121,049 acres and was 35% contained.

Fire crews have been battling the blaze in triple-digit heat. On Wednesday, however, forecaster­s said temperavat­e tures will return to normal, or close to it, by this weekend. Temperatur­es will reach the high 90s and humidity will hover around 20%, said Roy Skinner, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

“Any break in the weather is appreciate­d — we’re at 35% containmen­t,” he said. “However, we don’t want people to be complacent, or on edge. But the fact is, this fire was started by just one little spark off a vehicle.”

Still, as a low-pressure system approaches from the west, the area could see shifting winds and gusts of up 30 mph, said National Weather Service meteorolog­ist Tom Dang.

“This fire has a very unique personalit­y,” said Jason Shanley, a spokesman for the Carr fire incident response. It’s been active at night, while a stubborn inversion layer has kept smoke low to the ground and hindered air support during the day. Conditions also spawned a fire tornado that ripped through parts of Redding. “Every day there’s a new challenge.”

The fire is now mostly burning on its western flank. On the eastern end, more and more of the 38,000 fire evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes — or what is left of them — in and around Redding.

The Carr fire has claimed six lives so far — those of a Redding fire inspector, a pritighter bulldozer contractor and four civilians. It has also destroyed more than 1,500 structures, becoming the sixth most destructiv­e wildfire in recorded state history.

“Steep terrain, erratic winds, and previously unburned fuels” on the western edge are challengin­g crews and increasing potential for spot fires, according to a Cal Fire incident report.

Containmen­t is also increasing on two fires in southern Mendocino County: As of Wednesday evening the Ranch fire was 15% contained after burning 64,514 acres, while the River fire had scorched 33,398 acres and was 38% contained.

“Low humidity, heat and wind will continue to challenge firefighte­rs throughout the day” Wednesday, a Cal Fire incident report said. Firefighte­rs hope to fully contain both blazes by Aug. 7, the report said. The low-pressure system will have a similar effect on the weather around these fires and on the Carr fire, Dang said.

Fire officials anticipate that the Ferguson fire near Yosemite National Park will intensify and spread farther into the central Sierra Nevada, a change in behavior caused largely by the shifting weather patterns expected in the next few days. As of Wednesday evening, the fire had scorched 63,798 acres and was 39% contained.

For the last several days, a high-pressure system has remained over the region. This has created an inversion, which acts like the lid on a pot of boiling water, keeping smoke from rising. As that pressure system lifts, and the inversion disappears, officials anticipate the fire will be fed fresh air and intensify.

Now in its 21st day, the Ferguson fire still threatens to ignite a massive number of dead trees that have been killed off by five years of drought and a bark beetle infestatio­n.

“This fire has amazed me in its ability to do things I’ve never seen before,” fire behavior analyst Robert Scott, with California Interagenc­y Incident Management Team 4, told a large group of firefighte­rs gathered for the daily morning briefing Wednesday. “Be extremely careful down there.”

Safety remains a concern for firefighte­rs. Two have died battling the fire, while nine others have been injured. Between Oakhurst and Ahwahnee, smoke hangs in the air, and poster boards strapped to road signs and mailboxes along California 49 have messages of support for firefighte­rs, with many reading, “Stay safe!”

The features that make the region appealing to tourists and nature lovers — large canyons, tall ridge tops and plunging cliffs — have made the fire more than challengin­g for firefighte­rs by creating unpredicta­ble microclima­tes.

“Unless you’re out there on the ground, feeling the wind and listening to the needles crack underneath your feet,” Scott said, “you can’t give a really precise prediction of what the fire is going to do.”

During the news conference Wednesday, Brown said that he had spoken with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and that the federal government was an important partner in firefighti­ng efforts.

The governor urged residents in fire-prone areas to stay on alert and said he planned to soon visit some of the state’s devastated communitie­s. But he pointed out that major changes — from firefighti­ng needs to environmen­tal policy — are needed for the future.

“We’re going to have to adapt. We’re going to have to change our technology,” Brown said. “But in the meantime, we’re going to spend a hell of a lot of money and there’s going to be a lot of unpleasant events.”

jaclyn.cosgrove@latimes.com john.myers@latimes.com louis.sahagun @latimes.com sonali.kohli@latimes.com Cosgrove reported from Yosemite, Myers from Sacramento, Sahagun from Redding and Kohli from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Alene Tchekmedyi­an contribute­d to this report.

 ?? Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times ?? FIREFIGHTE­RS WATCH as air tankers drop flame retardant ahead of the River fire in Lakeport, Calif., on Wednesday. The blaze, one of 16 large wildfires burning across the state, was 33,398 acres and 38% contained.
Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times FIREFIGHTE­RS WATCH as air tankers drop flame retardant ahead of the River fire in Lakeport, Calif., on Wednesday. The blaze, one of 16 large wildfires burning across the state, was 33,398 acres and 38% contained.
 ?? Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times ?? FIREFIGHTE­RS monitor the progressio­n of the River fire on Wednesday. Low humidity, heat and wind challenged crews, although containmen­t increased on the southern Mendocino County blaze and another nearby.
Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times FIREFIGHTE­RS monitor the progressio­n of the River fire on Wednesday. Low humidity, heat and wind challenged crews, although containmen­t increased on the southern Mendocino County blaze and another nearby.

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