State of emergency declared as wildfire threatens hundreds of California homes
Scores of Lake County residents remained under evacuation orders Monday morning after a winddriven wildfire ripped across thousands of acres of brush in Northern California, authorities said.
The Pawnee fire is threatening 600 homes and structures in Spring Valley north of Highway 20 and started late Saturday afternoon northeast of Clearlake Oaks, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
The blaze has scorched 8,200 acres and there has been no containment as of Monday morning. Twentytwo structures have been destroyed, many of those in sparsely populated patches of land outside of suburban neighborhoods, officials said.
On Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Lake County due to the fire. The declaration cuts through bureaucratic red tape to free up resources faster and enables the county to recover some of the costs of fighting the fire.
The blaze is being fed by erratic winds, low humidity and above average temperatures that have left the parched brush and vegetation vulnerable to fastmoving flames. The fire is about 70 miles north of Napa.
“The fuels over the last five years — even though we had a wet winter a year ago — the fuels are still very dry and very drought stressed,” said Jordan Motta, a captain with Cal Fire. “This fire is an example.”
Lake County has been repeatedly hit by fires in recent years. More than 150 homes were destroyed in October when multiple brush fires broke out in NorthernCalifornia’s wine country and communities to its north.
In 2015, more than 500 homes were destroyed in the Valley fire, which injured four firefighters and burned 76,000 acres.
On Sunday, the state Office of Emergency Services announced it has secured federal dollars to help pull in additional resources to fight the Pawnee fire as needed. More than 230 firefighters are battling the blaze along with two waterdropping helicopters.
Sheriff’s officials reminded residents who are evacuating to pack pets, phones and computers, prescriptions, photos and paperwork and urged residents to close their doors and windows before leaving. A shelter was opened at Lower Lake High School.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Crews were stationed along the blaze’s southern and southwestern edges to protect homes, Capt. Motta said. Winds Monday are expected to push the fire north and east, away from the densest neighborhoods, he said.
Indeed, a cooling Delta breeze and an increase in humidity are expected to help firefighters get control of wildfires burning across Northern California, Cal Fire said Monday.
A National Weather Service Red Flag Warning was issued over the weekend because of high temperatures and gusty winds, conditions that contributed to the spread of at least a halfdozen fires in Lake, Tehama and Shasta counties.
But a cool Delta breeze swept into the valley overnight, bringing humid air and causing temperatures to drop about 10 to 15 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
A “great increase” in relative humidity is expected through the night, said Capt. Motta. “An increase in relative humidity means a decrease in fire activity, which should help the containment number grow.”
Smoke from Northern California fires and a 162acre fire in Tuolumne County are not affecting air quality in Sacramento, according to the Sacramento Air Quality Management District.
In the foothills, there is visible smoke in the upper atmosphere, but the smoke pollutants are not at breathing level, the Placer County Air Pollution Control District said.
There was a spike in pollutants at 8 p.m. Sunday, but it dispersed throughout the night, a spokesperson said.