Shifting winds could bring more smoke to Mother Lode; hotter temps this weekend
Shifting winds could bring more smoke from massive fires burning north of the Mother Lode, including the Caldor Fire burning 45 miles north of Sonora, with Sonora-area highs approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this week.
On Wednesday, a V-shaped lowpressure trough along the Northern California coast, north of the Bay Area, was helping bring winds out of the southwest to Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, Eric Kurth, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento, said in a phone interview.
Air quality sensors for the Mother Lode foothills were showing yellow for moderate air quality as of Wednesday afternoon.
This could shift Friday and Saturday, with winds coming out of the north for the Sacramento Valley and out of the east for the westside foothills of Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, Kurth said.
“We’re expecting a return to typical diurnal winds, with westerly winds in the afternoon and easterly winds overnight,” he said. “Those winds will shift back and forth at times. Afternoon, smoke will be pushing to the east. Then at night, smoke will be forced back down into the foothills. Smoke will be moving back and forth.”
Winds in the Mother Lode foothills could gust 10 to 15 miles per hour Friday and Saturday, Kurth said.
Daytime highs for Sonora are expected near 90 on Thursday, 95 on Friday, 98 on Saturday, and 99 on Sunday.
Continuing tinder-dry conditions in the 1,400-square-mile Stanislaus National Forest on Wednesday prompted the U.S. Forest Service to announce temporary campfire restrictions and target shooting restrictions for the entire forest.
“The potential for new fires to start and burn uncontrollably is extremely high right now,” the Forest Service said in a statement distributed Wednesday. “The combination of extreme fire conditions and weather, along with significant shortages in firefighting resources, poses a significant threat to communities and the visiting public.”
A forest-wide ban on campfires and recreational target shooting goes into effect Thursday, Aug. 26. No wood or charcoal fires will be allowed anywhere in the Stanislaus
National Forest, including all forest campgrounds, developed sites, and wilderness areas.
Recreational target shooting will be prohibited. Lawful hunting of deer and bear will continue to be allowed.
The Caldor Fire has burned close to 200 square miles and destroyed more than 635 structures, including more than 450 homes, in the Eldorado National Forest and El Dorado County since it broke out Aug. 14, according to Cal Fire and the Forest Service. The cause of the fire was being investigated. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Caldor Fire was estimated to be 11 percent contained. More than 2,600 firefighters and support staff were assigned to the fire.
More than 88% of the Golden State was in extreme drought this week, according to scientists with the U.S. Drought Monitor. Most of Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, the west slope Central Sierra, and 48.9% of the state were in the most dire category, exceptional drought.