SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Firefighting crews will look to make the most of relatively mild weather conditions in Northern California as they battle multiple major wildfires, which have already ripped through hundreds of thousands of acres amid critical drought conditions.
Close to 40,000 Californians remain evacuated from their homes, nearly 25,000 of them in El Dorado County due to the Caldor fire.
The blaze is now 117,704 acres (184 square miles) with 9% containment, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service said in a Tuesday morning update. It has destroyed at least 455 homes, 11 businesses and 166 minor structures, though damage assessment is still in progress. About 17,500 more structures are considered at risk.
Activity was moderate overnight, officials said. Winds decreased and humidity increased, but parts of the fire burned into steep terrain. Several small spot fires developed Monday evening, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service said in Tuesday’s update.
The Caldor fire ignited the evening of Aug. 14, then exploded to life early last week, spreading north into the town of Grizzly Flats and continuing upward to force evacuations for the Pollock Pines, Sly Park and Kyburz areas.
The fire largely destroyed Grizzly Flats, and two civilians there had to be airlifted to hospitals with injuries described as serious.
Caltrans over the weekend closed a 46-mile stretch of Highway 50 in both directions between Pollock Pines and Meyers. The fire spotted across the highway near Kyburz on Saturday, but it is still burning primarily south of it.
Highway 50 remains closed with no estimated time of reopening.
Caldor is currently the No. 1 priority for resources out of any fire in the entire United States, Cal Fire Director Thom Porter said during a Monday news briefing at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services headquarters in Mather.
The good news, Porter said, is that there are only low to moderate chances of new wildfire starts across all of California this week, meaning it is relatively unlikely that precious resources will have to be diverted to a new incident.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday requested a presidential major disaster declaration, specific to the Dixie, Antelope, McFarland, Monument and River fires that have burned in parts Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties.
If approved by the Biden administration, the declaration would assist with support programs including housing assistance, food aid, medical and legal services and more for wildfire victims. It’d also offer funds to state, local and tribal governments.
A subsequent declaration for the Caldor fire will likely be requested after officials are able to more fully assess the scope of destruction.
Nine national forests that cover millions of acres are closed to the public due to wildfire impacts.
Dixie fire
Containment on the Dixie fire, the second-largest wildfire incident in recorded California history, ticked up a percentage point to 41% Tuesday morning.
The Dixie fire grew a few thousand acres Monday, now reported by Cal Fire and the Forest Service at 731,310 acres (1,143 square miles).
The west zone of the Dixie fire was active Monday night due to lower humidity. On the east side, crews are working to secure containment lines near the Janesville and Milford areas, as well as near Grizzly Ridge.
Severe drought is contributing to extreme conditions at the Dixie fire and other incidents across the state.
“Firefighters are experiencing conditions never seen before, such as increased spread rates, spotting and active nighttime burning,” Cal Fire officials wrote in a Monday update.
Some evacuation orders have been lifted or reduced to voluntary warnings, but emergency officials urge residents to remain vigilant, prepared and aware of smoke impacts.
A substantial number of evacuation orders remain in place across numerous communities and campgrounds in Plumas, Lassen and Tehama counties, along with evacuation warnings in Butte County. More details are available from Cal Fire as well as from those counties’ sheriff’s offices.
Nearly 6,000 fire personnel are assigned to the blaze. Some engines on the Dixie fire were rerouted early last week to the Caldor fire.
The cause of the Dixie fire remains under investigation by Cal Fire, but Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in a filing to the state’s utility regulator acknowledged that equipment on one of the company’s power poles likely involved in sparking the wildfire.
Trinity County fires
A pair of lightning-sparked wildfires, the Monument and McFarland fires near Trinity County, have each surpassed 100,000 acres since igniting in late July.
Activity is slowing because of improving weather conditions and increased humidity, according to the Forest Service, but there are still large amounts of extremely dry fuel that are receptive to burning.
The Monument fire as of Monday evening was 150,011 acres with 20% containment, continuing to threaten more than 10,000 structures south of Del Loma near the Trinity River, according to Cal Fire and the Forest Service.
Some evacuation orders for the Monument fire were reduced to warnings Monday, including parts of Junction City, Big Flat, Big Bar and Del Loma. Orders remain in place for other communities including Hayfork, and a stretch of Highway 299 is closed between Sky Ranch and Ammon roads. Detailed evacuation information is available via the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office page on Facebook.
The McFarland fire is 118,624 acres and 71% contained as of Tuesday morning, according to the Forest Service. The fire grew minimally on Monday.
Evacuation orders remain in place for the Shasta County community of Platina, where about 200 people live, as well as areas west of Vestal and Weemasoul roads in Tehama County along the Tehama-Shasta county line.
French fire
The French fire, burning northwest of Lake Isabella in Kern County, is now 16,002 acres with 19% containment.
Mandatory evacuations remain in place for communities including Keysville, Dutch Flat, Willow Flat and part of Wofford Heights, all north of Highway 178 and west of the reservoir.
