Fog helps keep lid on Dixie Fire
Thick plumes of smoke from California’s largest wildfire helped keep its own growth at bay over the weekend northwest of Lake Tahoe, but officials on Monday said they don’t expect that situation to hold up much longer.
The Dixie Fire burning in Plumas and Butte counties, at 197,487 acres as of Monday morning, had produced smoke that settled into a blanket of foggy, cool air, shielding the fire from direct sunlight and high temperatures in the 90s, said Edwin Zuniga, a public information officer with Cal Fire.
With favorable weather conditions including moderate overnight winds, firefighters were able to deploy drones and nightflying aircraft to watch for spot fires, which helped crews limit the spread to only a few thousand acres overnight.
But around 11 a.m. Monday, that layer of fog was expected to lift as temperatures rise again, leaving nothing in between the scorching sun and the blaze — which could lead to an exponential increase in fire activity.
The Dixie Fire on Monday was 22% contained, mainly on its south side. Winds coming from the southwest were largely responsible for spreading the fire north and northeast.
The fire, which began on July 14, has forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 Plumas County residents, according to the Sheriff ’s Office, including many communities along the west shore of Lake Almanor from Canyon Dam north to Highway 36 at Highway 89. Zuniga said fire crews were focused on establishing containment lines on the north side of the fire to protect those lakeside communities.
More than 10,700 structures are threatened by the blaze, Cal Fire said. The agency’s latest incident report said 16 structures have been confirmed destroyed, but officials expect that number to rise after inspection crews are allowed into the area, much of which remains offlimits because of the ongoing danger.
Though there is a slight chance for thunderstorms to form above the wildfire, they would bring some rain, unlike the dry thunderstorms that sparked wildfires in California and the Bay Area last August.
The Dixie Fire received little rainfall Sunday night, but more is expected Monday night, which may help firefighting efforts, said Robert Garrifaldi, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
However, later in the week, temperatures in affected parts of Butte and Plumas counties will hit the 90s, forecasters said — again worsening fire conditions.
Meanwhile, crews continued to make progress against the Tamarack Fire, which has been burning in the federally designated Mokelumne Wilderness area along the Nevada border south of Lake Tahoe since July 4. As of Monday morning, the fire was 67,764 acres and 45% contained, according to the federal InciWeb site.