Thunderstorms Spark 400 NorCal Wildfires-75 in Shasta Forest

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Northern California is literally burning to a crisp this weekend. Temperatures at 105, humidity at single digits, severe drought conditions and drastic budget cuts in emergency services. Mix that with a freak dry lightning and thunderstorm, and the tinderbox exploded today.

http://cbs13.com/local/northern.california.lightning.2.753909.html

Quote:

Thunderstorms Spark Nearly 400 NorCal Wildfires
Gov. Schwarzenegger Orders National Guard To Assist Firefighters
Jun 21, 2008 4:18 pm US/Pacific

REDDING (AP) Thunderstorms sparked as many as 400 fires around Northern California, as officials farther south got close to containing a blaze that destroyed several homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

Storms overnight Friday were responsible for 75 fires in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, near Redding. Those fires range in size from less than an acre to more than 750 acres.

None immediately threatened homes, said Forest Service spokesman Michael Odle. Teams moved in Saturday on the two largest fires.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office said Saturday that lightning had sparked nearly 400 fires from Monterey County to the California-Oregon border. The governor ordered the California National Guard to assist in firefighting efforts.

South of San Francisco, a fire that burned homes and closed a stretch of highway was 90 percent contained, said officials of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Officials had expected full containment on Saturday, but hot weather and stubborn hot spots kept fire crews busy. Cal Fire now expects the fire to be fully contained on Sunday. So far, it had charred 630 acres, or less than a square mile.

Evacuation orders were lifted Saturday, a day after roughly 2,000 people fled their homes.

About 650 firefighters were working in hot, dry weather to contain the blaze, which destroyed as many as 15 buildings, including several homes, and closed scenic Highway 1 in Santa Cruz County for hours, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation, Van Gerwen said.

It was the third major blaze to hit Santa Cruz County in the past month. A 520-acre blaze charred destroyed 11 buildings in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and a fire near Corralitos covered more than 4,200 acres and destroyed about 100 buildings.

To the south along the coast, firefighters worked against a nearly 80-square-mile fire in a remote part of the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County. It was about half contained Saturday.

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Re: Thunderstorms Spark 400 NorCal Wildfires-75 in Shasta Fo

Butrflynet wrote:

Northern California is literally burning to a crisp this weekend. Temperatures at 105, humidity at single digits, severe drought conditions and drastic budget cuts in emergency services. Mix that with a freak dry lightning and thunderstorm, and the tinderbox exploded today.

http://cbs13.com/local/northern.california.lightning.2.753909.html

Quote:
Thunderstorms Spark Nearly 400 NorCal Wildfires
Gov. Schwarzenegger Orders National Guard To Assist Firefighters
Jun 21, 2008 4:18 pm US/Pacific

REDDING (AP) Thunderstorms sparked as many as 400 fires around Northern California, as officials farther south got close to containing a blaze that destroyed several homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

Storms overnight Friday were responsible for 75 fires in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, near Redding. Those fires range in size from less than an acre to more than 750 acres.

None immediately threatened homes, said Forest Service spokesman Michael Odle. Teams moved in Saturday on the two largest fires.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office said Saturday that lightning had sparked nearly 400 fires from Monterey County to the California-Oregon border. The governor ordered the California National Guard to assist in firefighting efforts.

South of San Francisco, a fire that burned homes and closed a stretch of highway was 90 percent contained, said officials of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Officials had expected full containment on Saturday, but hot weather and stubborn hot spots kept fire crews busy. Cal Fire now expects the fire to be fully contained on Sunday. So far, it had charred 630 acres, or less than a square mile.

Evacuation orders were lifted Saturday, a day after roughly 2,000 people fled their homes.

About 650 firefighters were working in hot, dry weather to contain the blaze, which destroyed as many as 15 buildings, including several homes, and closed scenic Highway 1 in Santa Cruz County for hours, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation, Van Gerwen said.

It was the third major blaze to hit Santa Cruz County in the past month. A 520-acre blaze charred destroyed 11 buildings in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and a fire near Corralitos covered more than 4,200 acres and destroyed about 100 buildings.

To the south along the coast, firefighters worked against a nearly 80-square-mile fire in a remote part of the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County. It was about half contained Saturday.

I'm trying to learn if the cabin of our friends, Dot and Bobby, is untouched by the fire in the Santa Cruz mountains. Will let you know what I learn.

BBB

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Twenty days later and we're still burning... The Valley is still surrounded by fires. The sun today in Sacramento looked like we were having a solar eclipse. They've had to shut down Sacramento International Airport a couple times in the past two days because visibility was so poor, just like the thick Valley fog we get in the winter. It is estimated that it will be like this at least until August 1st. About the only place in California without heavy smoke is the city of San Francisco.

I just installed my third AC filter in the last twenty days to try to help filter the air in my apartment.

We've had some really beautiful sunsets. The sky and sun have been a bright blood red at times and you could actually see a double ring around the sun as you looked directly at it.

Some amazing video a local news crew took in the midst of the Butte fire:

http://cbs13.com/video/[email protected]

Here's a map of the fire locations for those not familiar with the geographical names

http://www.fire.ca.gov/downloads/incidents/StatewideFireMap_071008_AM.pdf

Here's a summary report from 9 AM this morning. You can get detailed county by county info on evactuation areas here:

http://www.fire.ca.gov/index_incidents.php

Latest from CalFire:

Statewide
Fire Overview
Thursday, July 10, 2008 9:00 a.m.

Current Situation:

Firefighters continue to make progress in containing wildfires throughout California. To date over fourteen hundred fires have been contained due to the diligent and endless work of firefighters from not only California, but throughout the nation. Red Flag Warnings in northern California have expanded eastward and been extended through Friday afternoon. Record high temperatures and low humidities will continue throughout northern and central California today. The priority of firefighting is for the protection of life, property and natural resources.

Statistics:

Fires:

Peak Fires: 1,781

Contained: 1,459

Active: 322
Acres: 702,394
Personnel Committed: 19,706
Resources Committed:

Engines: 1,589

Crews: 414

Dozers: 258

Water Tenders: 406

Helicopters: 107

Items of Interest:

Highway closures:

State highways, county and local roads are closed throughout California due to wildfire activities. Closures and delays remain in place for State Highways 1 (Big Sur Area), 32, 70 and 96. Travelers are advised to seek current information from local law enforcement.

Evacuations:

Areas of Butte, Kern, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Shasta and Trinity counties are under evacuation orders at this time. Precautionary evacuation orders currently exist in areas in Butte, Kern, Mendocino, Monterey, Plumas, Santa Barbara, Shasta and Trinity counties. Residents are advised to monitor their local fire situation, check with local law enforcement agencies for information, and be prepared to evacuate when necessary.

Structures:

Threatened: 13,067 residences, 158 commercial, 2,626 outbuildings.
Destroyed: 99 residences, 1 commercial, 90 outbuildings.
# # #

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Thunderstorms Spark 400 NorCal Wildfires-75 in Shasta Forest

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