The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Approaching storm adds complications to wildfire battle
Firefighters struggling to control raging California wildfires faced a new threat Friday as a tropical storm approached from the south with gusty winds and a surge of moisture that forecasters warned could unleash heavy rains and flash floods.
East winds were rising at the deadly Fairview Fire in Southern California and firefighters worried that gusts would push the fire west, casting embers far ahead and igniting new blazes.
The fire covered about 43 square miles of Riverside County and was just 5% contained. Two people died while fleeing on Monday and at least 12 structures have been destroyed. More than 18,000 homes were threatened.
To the north in the Sierra Nevada, the Mosquito Fire burned out of control, scorching at least 22 square miles and threatening 3,600 homes in Placer and El Dorado counties, while blanketing the region in smoke.
Flames jumped the American River, burning structures in the mountain hamlet of Volcanoville and moving closer to the towns of Foresthill, home to about 1,500 people, and Georgetown, population
3,000. Fire spokesperson Chris Vestal called the fast-moving blaze an “extreme and critical fire threat.”
State emergency services officials warned that smoke was affecting air quality.
The fire’s cause remained under investigation. Pacific Gas & Electric notified the state Public Utilities Commission that the U.S. Forest Service placed caution tape around the base of a PG&E transmission pole but that no damage could be seen. PG&E said unspecified “electrical activity” occurred close in time to the report of the fire on Sept. 6.
Positive news was reported from the Radford Fire near the Big Bear Lake resort area in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles. Evacuation orders were reduced to warnings as containment grew to 59% with just under 2 square miles burned.
California faced other weather threats as an oppressive heat wave strained the state power grid and tropical moisture brought a surge in humidity and threats of thunderstorms and floods.
Tropical Storm Kay, downgraded from a hurricane, was off Mexico’s Baja California peninsula Friday and was expected to continue north and then veer west but still strongly impact Southern California.