Fresnoarea fire sending smoke here
Wildfires in Fresno and San Benito counties sent smoke over parts of the Bay Area on Wednesday but posed no immediate threat to groundlevel air quality as the region struggles with the surging coronavirus pandemic.
The Mineral Fire ignited on Monday in the mountains west of Coalinga and has burned 14,300 acres so far, according to Cal Fire, making it California’s largest blaze of the fire season. Roughly 60 miles farther north, the Coyote Fire devoured 1,407 acres Wednesday as it quickly spread near the unincorporated community of Panoche.
Smoke from both was visible in the skies above the South Bay, East Bay and coastline of San Francisco, meteorologists said, and the haze may linger for days.
As of Wednesday evening, the Mineral Fire was 15% contained and had not damaged any buildings, though 60 structures were threatened. Evacuation orders were in place for the community of Bingham Springs, for people living on Los Gatos Creek Road from Indian Springs to Union Carbide Road, and for several areas near State
Route 198, Cal Fire said. Authorities set up a temporary evacuation point at West Hills College in Coalinga.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Coyote Fire burned 1,407 acres of brush by evening, with 20% containment. At least two structures were lost in the blaze, a Cal Fire official said, and no injuries were reported. The Sheriff ’s Office issued evacuation orders for the rural community as homes, barns and outbuildings were threatened.
San Benito County sheriff ’s deputies were at the scene warning residents to evacute shortly after 5 p.m., according to a sheriff ’s office alert. The American Red Cross set up an evacuation area at the county fairgrounds.
Twenty fire engines, four bulldozers, 10 airtankers and two helicopters responded to the scene, Cal Fire said.
Southerly winds pushed smoke from the Mineral and Coyote fires toward the Bay Area, said Rick Canepa, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Smoke was held in place by low air pressure off the coast southwest of San Francisco, said Jim Andersen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford (Kings County). That low pressure may not dissipate for several days, though the amount of visible smoke may fluctuate depending on fog and the fire’s activity, Andersen said.
“Unfortunately, you’re going to be getting smoked in, kind of, for the next several days,” he said.
Wildfire smoke is of particular concern for public health officials this year because it can harm the respiratory system and leave people more vulnerable to the coronavirus. And as autumn approaches, the state is facing the most dangerous part of its wildfire season, made worse by very low levels of rain and snow in Northern California this winter.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an advisory about the Mineral Fire smoke on Tuesday, saying it expected the blaze to cause smoky and hazy skies in the region without harming air quality on the ground. Tina Landis, a spokeswoman for the air district, said Wednesday that weather conditions were keeping the smoke aloft.
“Even if it looks bad ... as far as we can tell for now, it’s not going to be affecting groundlevel air quality,” Landis said. However, she said that if residents do smell smoke in their area, they should take precautions and stay inside as much as possible — especially if they have respiratory conditions that make them sensitive to smoke.
The looming threat of peak fire season and the pandemic has prompted state and local government officials to rethink how they could conduct largescale evacuations and keep firefighters safe while they try to extinguish large blazes. Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week that the state was also hiring 858 seasonal firefighters to make up for a sharp reduction in inmate firefighting crews caused by the virus, which has spread in parts of the state prison system.
Cal Fire is trying to prevent its staff from catching the virus while fighting wildfires this year. Firefighters at the Mineral Fire base camp have to wear masks and practice social distancing, and daily briefings are being streamed so employees are “not on top of each other,” said spokeswoman Stacey Nolan.
Cal Fire expects that the blaze won’t be fully contained until July 24.