2 years ago
CALIFORNIA - It's a daunting task: Hundreds of wildfires burn around the dry Golden State, many of them sparked by lightning. (See the slideshow).
Monday during a news conference in Fairfield, Gov. Schwarzenegger called the number of blazes "shocking" and commended the effort fire crews were making in rugged terrain. Later in the evening, Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Monterey and Trinity Counties where firefighters are battling numerous fires including the Basin Complext Fire, Gallery Fire and the Lime Complex Fire.
Temperatures dropped overnight which is helping the firefighting effort across the state.
Napa County: Wild Fire
A fire burning in remote canyons not far from the heart of Napa wine country has scorched more than 5.5 square miles of grassy woodland.
The Wild Fire was 60 percent contained as of Monday afternoon and had burned an estimated 4,089 acres in Napa and Solano counties since Saturday afternoon, according to the Cal Fire Web site.
The fire destroyed one barn, damaged one residence and continues to threaten about 400 homes, two commercial buildings and 40 outbuildings, Cal Fire volunteer Elizabeth Emmett said.
More than 400 firefighters were battling the blaze that started around 4 p.m. on Saturday near Wild Horse Valley Road in Napa County but quickly spread through dry grass and oak trees to the Twin Sisters area of Solano County.
No injuries have been reported. Residents on the west side of Wooden Valley Road, Joyce Lane and Twin Sisters Road were under a mandatory evacuation order. In Solano County, a voluntary evacuation warning was issued for residents on Green Valley Road, north of Rockville Road.
An evacuation center was set up in Fairfield at the Fairfield Community Center at 1000 Kentucky Street.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although fire officials said they don't think it was started by lightning.
Fire officials say most roads have been reopened.
Lake and Colusa Counties: Walker FireThe Double Eagle subdivision in Lake County has been evacuated because of the Walker Fire burning outside the city of Williams in Lake County.
The fire has burned 10,000 acres and firefighters are still trying to contain the flames.
Walker Ridge road remains closed.
Santa Clara: Whitehurst-Hummingbird Fire
Firefighters partially contained two wildfires Sunday that have charred more than 700 acres in Santa Clara County and forced more than 350 people to evacuate, fire officials reported.
The Hummingbird Fire, which started around 2 p.m. Saturday near Hummingbird and Watsonville roads in an unincorporated area of the county, had burned about 750 acres and was declared 50 percent contained as of Monday morning, according to fire officials.
The Whitehurst Fire, which started around the same time at Hecker Pass Highway and Mount Madonna County Park, had burned more than 300 acres and was estimated to be about 50 percent contained.
Residents of 128 houses were evacuated. The American Red Cross set up a shelter at Live Oak High School at 1505 East Main Ave. in Morgan Hill.
The two fires, which are believed to have been sparked by dry lightening, prompted county officials to declare a local state of emergency Saturday evening.
Nevada County: Fall Fire
Voluntary evacuations were called at camp sites around Bowman, Carr and Feely lakes in the Grass Valley area as crews battled the 450-acre Fall Fire, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The blaze, which started Saturday afternoon, had burned about 450 acres on both sides of Bowman Lake Rd, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Ann Wesling said.
Wesling said many hikers and campers had left the area, although those who stayed behind were being asked to leave. While there are cabins in the area, Wesling said it was unclear if any were threatened by the blaze.
Butte County: Rim and Empire Fires
Firefighters from Southern California have arrived in Butte County to help manage the firefight against 27 blazes burning there. The Rim and Empire blazes burning across 1,500 acres northeast of Lake Oroville in Butte county.
An unexpected flare up Monday afternoon forced Cal Fire to call for a mandatory evacuation of three homes and a voluntary evacuation of dozens more. According to Cal-Fire officials 64 people have checked into the evacuation center at Spring Valley School, 2771 Pentz Road just off Highway 70.
But it's not the immediate threat to homes that has fire crews worried. Instead, they're concerned about what could happen in the next 24 to 72 hours. So far, winds have cooperated, however gusts up 30 miles an hour are expected in the coming days.
Trying to control the flames is treacherous. The Rim Fire is burning in rugged, mountainous wildland. "Look how steep it is. You can't just put people down over the edge to cut line," said Jay Beristanios of the Ukiah Fire Department who is fighting the Rim Fire.
The tough conditions, combined with the enormous number of fires are draining the state's resources, even more so than the Southern California fires of last fall. While those fires created immense drama and tragedy, there were only 13 major fires. "Right now we have several dozen major fires that we're all trying to staff and it takes overhead, it takes engines, dozers?handcrews," explained Loren Snell of Cal Fire.
His command center is working non-stop to find enough crews to fight the fires. In fact, they have to pick and choose which fires to staff.
It's a problem Cal-Fire is worried will get worse. "The big concern is what's up ahead. We have lightening predicted to come in Thursday night Friday night and Saturday and so if this lightning comes in again, we're already stretched thin."
Butte County has issued an immediate threat evacuation for the following locations:
- Camelot area off Concow Road north of Hoffman Road
- Rim Road and Andy Mountain Road
- Crane Ridge Road off Andy Mountain Road
- Rim Road area
- Big Bend Road
- Yellowood Road at Concow Road to Mountain Pine Lane
- Concow Road to the end of the pavement
The so-called "Cold Fire," at 640 acres, was the highest priority for Monday, U.S. Forest Service officials said. That fire is burning four miles south of Highway 70 and the communities of Greenhorn and Spring Garden. Crews were building a fire line to keep the fire from spreading north toward the Middle Fork of the Feather River and Highway 70.
A big concern has been flaming debris rolling downhill into canyons starting new fires, said spokeswoman Jeanne Pincha.
Other fire locations ranged from the western Sierra foothills, with smoke columns visible from the towns of Oroville and Paradise, and east to Highway 89, with smoke visible from the towns of Greenville, Quincy and Graeagle.
Meanwhile, numerous small fires, ranging from a tenth of an acre to five to 20 acres were spotted west of Quincy from Slate Creek, north to Round Valley and further down the Feather River drainages to the west. There were no structures threatened by any of the fires.
Trinity County Lime ComplexAbut five miles south of Hyampom, the Lime Complex series of fires have scorched 4,000 acres. There was no containment as of Monday afternoon.
In Trinity and Shasta counties combined, 130 fires have been reported, blackening 5,000 acres in all.
Placer, Nevada, Sierra County Fires Burn
In Placer, Nevada and Sierra counties, approximately 20 fires were sparked by lightning along the western side of the Tahoe National Forest, according to the U.S. Forest Service.Many of the fires were in remote inaccessible areas, and have burned several thousand acres.
In Placer County, fires were burning north of the North Fork American River; near the Foresthill Divide; along Mosquito Ridge Road, and in the Middle Fork American River canyon.
In addition to the Fall Fire, Nevada County blazes were also located near Alpha Omega Overlook and Skillman Campground along Highway 20. Meanwhile, fires were also spotted north of Hwy 49 in the Calida area and north of Graniteville in Sierra County.
While some of the fires had been contained by Sunday afternoon, crews were expected to work on the firelines throughout the night. Local fire departments, Cal Fire and Forest Service crews are working aggressively to contain these fires.
Tuolumne-Calaveras Blazes
Residents in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties were still encountering heavy smoke Monday from more than a dozen fires that burned there Saturday.
At least 16 fires were sparked by lightning around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, a Tuolumne-Calavaras CDF representative said.
Eight Tuolumne fires were contained and in the mop-up stage by Sunday, while three fires continued to burn near Arnold. Authorities said the active fires were burning at a slow rate of spread.
News10/KXTV
