Firefighters prepared for more blazes with thunderstorm threat
The massive Dixie Fire, the second largest in California history, continues to burn and dominate news coverage, but 14 other wildfires are still active in Northern California, drawing the resources of firefighters, forcing evacuations and threatening homes.
The Dixie Fire has scorched 515,756 acres and was was 31% contained as of Thursday evening, Cal Fire officials said. And as of Thursday evening, the blaze had destroyed 1,109 structures, including more than 500 single-residence homes.
According to Cal Fire, 9,831 firefighters were battling 11 major wildfires and many smaller blazes throughout the state. The fires have cumulatively burned 959,611 acres.
The most recent Northern California blaze, which started Wednesday in Yuba County, is the Glen Fire, which consumed 184 acres and was 25% contained as of Thursday evening. Cal Fire officials said the change in the blaze’s acreage — which was initially recorded as 209 acres on Thursday afternoon — was due to better mapping.
Located northwest of Robbins (Sutter County), the fire started Wednesday afternoon and quickly grew, forcing evacuations in Brownsville and Challenge but many of those evacuation orders were lifted hours later. The fire spread slowly overnight but structures are still threatened, according to Cal Fire officials. Firefighting is taking place in steep, rugged terrain dotted by a “large quantity of standing, dead trees,” Cal Fire said.
Three major wildfires are burning in rural areas of the Shasta-Trinity and Klamath national forests where hot, dry weather, winds and possible thunderstorms could send the flames tearing through tinder-dry vegetation.
The largest is the Monument Fire, which has ripped through 67,190 acres of Trinity County, according to the U.S. Forest Service, and continues to spread with hot, dry air and windy conditions. Isolated thunderstorms are forecast along with high temperatures.
The fire was just 3% contained Thursday.
Lightning started the Monument Fire July 30 in Del Loma, near Monument Peak, and it continues to tear through timber, brush, chaparral and grass that are as dry as they would normally be in late September, according to fire officials.
Evacuations were ordered in Junction City, Red Hill, Canyon Creek, Coopers Bar, Big Bar, Del Loma, Big Flat, Helena, Cedar Flat and Burnt Ranch, and the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area has been closed.
The threat of thunderstorms has fire crews prepared for extreme, erratic fire conditions that could push the flames in any direction.
“Firefighters are ready to act when and if a new start were to occur,” the Forest Service said. “The concern is that any new start will spread rapidly and burn with extreme intensity.”
The hot, dry, windy weather and potential thunderstorms are also a concern for firefighters on the Antelope Fire in Siskiyou County, which has charred 44,839 acres and is 24% contained. The fire’s spread has slowed but is still active in mid- to late afternoon.
Evacuation warnings have been issued for the communities of Tennant, Bray, Antelope Sink areas, Red Rock Road, Medicine Lake, Payne Springs and Blanche Lake. Nine homes were destroyed in Tennant, but about 100 were saved, according to Steven La-Sky, a fire spokesman.
Firefighters also rescued a young bear with burns on Monday, the 77th birthday of the U.S. Forest Service’s fire safety mascot, Smokey Bear. Firefighters captured the bear, which suffered burns on its paws and nose, and sent it to a wildlife rescue center, where it will be rehabilitated then released back into the wild, La-Sky said.
The McFarland Fire, which started near Wildwood in Trinity County Saturday after a lightning strike, has burned 37,779 acres and is 51% contained. On Wednesday night, Highway 36 was reopened without restrictions.