Cautious optimism in fight against massive California blazes

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — Fire officials are cautiously optimistic after dodging a major lightning storm, but they are pleading with residents to heed warnings and stay out of evacuation zones as three massive San Francisco Bay Area wildfires rage on, suffocating the region with smoky air.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week will be critical as more than 14,000 firefighters battle 17 major fire complexes, largely in Northern California where wildfires have surrounded the city of San Francisco on three sides, singeing coastal redwoods that have never been burned. The wildfires have been burning for a week.

“We are dealing with different climate conditions that are precipitating in fires the likes we haven’t seen in modern recorded history,” he said Monday.

A warning about dry lightning and gusty winds that could spark more fires was lifted for the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday morning, a huge relief to fire commanders who said the weather was aiding their efforts as firefighters continue to pour in from out of state. Temperatures are expected to be hot again this week.

More than 1,200 buildings have been destroyed although the number is bound to increase as residents are allowed back into neighborhoods and inspectors get a better look at the destruction. Authorities for the fire north of San Francisco expect to allow more evacuees back into their homes, or what remains of them.

A fifth body was found over the weekend from that wildfire, bringing the death count from the fires to seven. Also, Santa Cruz authorities announced Sunday that the body of a 70-year-old man was found in a remote area called Last Chance. Police had to use a helicopter to reach the remote area of roughly 40 homes at the end of a windy, steep dirt road north of the city of Santa Cruz.