With hundreds of fires raging, fight far from over
400 lightning strikes land but crews still see great progress
Four hundred lightning strikes pummeled Northern California on Wednesday, a monstrous latesummer siege that occurred just as firefighters gained the upper hand on three massive blazes burning in and around the Bay Area that were sparked by lightning.
All told, 700 fires have raged across the state since the thunderstorms began on Aug. 15. Flames have decimated 1.6 million acres of land, leveling 1,700 structures, felling cathedrallike redwood trees and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
Even as the weather cooled and 16,000 firefighters worked to beat back the infernos, the toll of this latest wildfire season was only beginning to come into focus.
“Every year it’s happening,” said Manoj Shimire, owner of the Hidden Valley Food Mart and Shell Station north of Middletown on Highway 29 — one of the battlefronts Wednesday. “It’s bad.”
One of the few upsides Wednesday was a strong marine layer rolling in from the Pacific Ocean, cooling and moistening the air over firescarred terrain along the coast. But the weather remains unpredictable: Thunderstorms might hit areas north
of Redding, possibly spreading into the Sierra Nevada and the Tahoe basin, according to Cal Fire assistant deputy director Daniel Berlant.
Such storms often bring lightning, though probably not the furious barrage that could potentially cause more fires. More than 14,000 strikes have been reported since the summer storm that besieged Northern California in recent weeks — with 400 strikes in the past day alone. Sweltering heat projected for the weekend could also create the conditions for more fires.
Santa Clara Cal Fire Unit Chief Jake Hess tried to shore up morale during a Wednesday afternoon briefing, acknowledging that just about everybody is run ragged.
“This is a point on the incident where we start to see our folks become fatigued,” Hess said. “I know our troops are getting tired. I know (for) the communities that are evacuated, it’s an inconvenience.”
In the North Bay, the LNU Lightning Complex fires had torched 360,868 acres across Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Solano and Yolo counties by nightfall Wednesday, destroying 1,080 buildings and causing five deaths, officials said. About 2,300 people are fighting the complex, which was 33% contained. The Walbridge Fire, part of the LNU, near Healdsburg continued presenting challenges: It’s encroached on a populated area with steep terrain that had few previous fires, which would have helped clear out vegetation.
“Make no mistake, there is a lot of work that has to be done over at the Walbridge Fire,” said Cal Fire Chief Sean Kavanaugh, who is overseeing the response to the LNU Lightning Complex. “But what I can tell you is, there is a good plan in place. The folks over there are working tirelessly every day in all the sections of the Walbridge Fire.”
The top priority for firefighters grappling with the LNU was an area south of Middletown, fire officials said, referring to a small town in Lake County where Highway 175 meets Highway 29. Fire crews launched an air attack Wednesday afternoon, with helicopters methodically dumping water and bright pink retardant on the burning flank of a hillside, then filling up at a base on Butts Canyon Road.
A fleet of engines lined up between homes along the road and the smoke and flames a mile away. Tankers, including 747s, flew in to douse the hills in retardant. Occasionally a column of flames would erupt behind the helicopter landing strip, in the middle of an empty field.
Across the highway from Shimire’s store and gas station, the barren hills are marked with dead black trees, remnants of the Valley Fire that burned into Middletown five years ago. His businesses were spared then, but with the LNU Fire burning nearby, they could once again be in the path of flames.
He’s staying open to serve the firefighters and utility workers who come in to buy food, water and ice. Gasoline sales are down.
“We’re helping people, so we’re staying open,” he said.
In other areas, the fires had begun dying down. First responders are cautiously allowing people to return to areas affected by the Meyers Fire north of Jenner, which was 97% contained Wednesday.
On the Peninsula and farther south along the coast, crews were making headway in the battle against the CZU Lightning Complex fires. That complex has burned 81,137 acres in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties and was 21% contained by Wednesday night.
“The past couple of days, we’ve been able to make significant progress on our fire fight,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Brunton said. “We’ve been able to establish more (containment) lines, continue to improve those lines that we have established, and (are) getting another day closer to extinguishing this fire.”
Yet even as firefighters beat back the flames, the fires continue ravaging forests and structures — and the death toll could mount. Authorities found a 63yearold woman dead in her Felton (Santa Cruz County) home Tuesday night, and they are investigating whether her death could be related to the fire.
Separately, first responders are searching for a person evacuated from Boulder Creek this week.
As they scour for the dead and missing, fire officials are also contending with tens of thousands of evacuees who are eager to return to their homes. Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Chris Clark urged residents of firethreatened areas to resist going home until evacuation orders are lifted, fearing they might impede the fire response if they go back prematurely.
“We want to get you back home, we really do,” Clark said. “But there are dangers to sneaking back in to the evacuated area . ... We want to help you, but what it does is divide our resources.”
In the East and South bay areas, the SCU Lightning Complex — the second largest in state history — is a chaotic, fiery tempest spanning seven counties. It has burned 367,371 acres in Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties and was 30% contained on Wednesday night. It has destroyed 37 structures, caused five injuries and was threatening 20,000 structures.
“For as large as this fire is, that we’ve only lost that many homes, and they might be cabins and outbuildings, is very impressive,” said Cal Fire forester David Janssen, whose truck bounced along a scorched onelane dirt road, past charred ground and ashen trees on Wednesday.
Janssen was driving through the Ohlone Regional Wilderness — about an hour south of Pleasanton and east of Milpitas — where fire had swept through. Below the ridge, smoke plumes rose from a steep canyon firefighters struggled to reach.
“The size of this fire is astronomical, the second largest in the nation’s history,” said Cal Fire spokesman Dominic Polito, standing on an overlook in the wilderness. “We need to extinguish hot spots that have the potential to spread canyon fires up onto the other side where there is more grass and communities.”
The goal Wednesday was to keep the fire from heading south to California State Route 152, east to Interstate 5 or north to Pleasanton, still more than 20 miles away, Janssen said. But the terrain is rugged, with its patchwork of steep canyons and bumpy, dusty roads.
Polito said the fire has burned down into canyons and is feeding off oak trees and big lumber. Winds are moving sparks about half a mile, with a 9 in 10 chance of starting a new fire if one lands on grass.
Nonetheless, firefighters managed to protect one notable treasure — the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton. One building, not in use but with historical significance, was destroyed, Janssen said.
“The fight up there was incredible,” he recounted.
Officials hope to completely contain the SCU fire by Sept. 3.