As California has a Dangerous, long-lasting heat wave With the blaze expected to continue into next week, firefighters across the state are already battling several new wildfires, some of them severe enough to require evacuations.
Much of Northern California remained under red flag warnings — warnings for extreme fire weather — as well extreme heat warningThe red flag alert warns of a combination of winds up to 30 mph, low humidity and warm temperatures that “may contribute to extreme fire propensity,” according to National Weather Service,
At least four new fires broke out in the region on Tuesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Given these conditions, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. initiated its first public safety power outage of the year, affecting 2,000 customers in eight counties — Butte, Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama and Yolo. The outage, which is expected to continue at least through Wednesday, is meant to protect the utility’s equipment from catching fire during dangerous conditions.
The Thompson fire is the largest fire in Butte County, prompting multiple evacuation orders and warnings near the town of Oroville just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to Fire Capt. Dan Collins of Cal Fire’s Butte County station. He said it grew to about 100 acres in just a few hours, burning mostly grassland.
No buildings were damaged, but the fire is threatening about 230 buildings in the area. PG&E shut off power lines in the fire area after the fire started, Collins said. As of Tuesday afternoon, there was no way to control the fire.
The Toll Fire broke out just before 10 a.m. Tuesday in Napa County, north of Calistoga, and grew to about 50 acres by noon, according to Cal Fire.
The wind-driven fire has closed at least one road in the area and prompted multiple evacuation orders and warnings, affecting more than 100 people in the region, according to Jason Clay, a Cal Fire spokesman at the Sonoma-Lake-Napa station. That fire had not been contained as of Tuesday afternoon.
Clay said conditions in the area are ripe for more wildfires to break out.
“The grass is really dry,” Clay said, also mentioning the area’s red flag warning. “That combination is all aligned, (and) it can lead to extreme fire behavior.”
Fire officials continue to warn that once vegetation completely dries out — typically by mid-summer — wildfires can really take off, as grasses and shrubs have grown in abundance following two winters of heavy rainfall.
“Avoid activities that could start a wildfire, such as parking on dry grass, pulling chains, or using equipment during the hottest parts of the day. Remember, one less spark means one less fire,” Cal Fire Advice was given on social media.
UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain called it “essentially inevitable” that wildfires will continue to occur and grow during the heat wave — which just started Tuesday — as the holiday weekend’s fireworks and firecrackers, warm temperatures and a buildup of dry fuels continue to heighten the fire risk.
“Frankly, it’s a very bad combination that a potentially record-breaking heat wave starts with dry northerly winds,” Swain said. A Brief Description on Monday“Get ready, I think California’s fire season is going to ramp up significantly in the next five to seven days.”
In eastern San Diego County, another large fire that broke out Monday continues to grow. The McCain Fire burning near Interstate 8 is only 5% contained, according to Cal Fire, after scorching nearly 1,000 acres as of Tuesday afternoon. Multiple evacuation orders and warnings were put in place due to the fire, which affected about 140 people, according to Fire Capt. Mike Cornett of the San Diego County Cal Fire team.
Cornett said authorities have closed a portion of the westbound lanes of Interstate 8, but the eastbound lanes are open. The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Cornett said it was likely started by a traffic collision that caused a vehicle to catch fire. He said about 150 structures were threatened, but none were damaged.
“There’s not a lot of smoke coming from the fire at this point, but it’s still an active fire,” Cornett said, estimating it could take several more days to fully contain the fire.
Two other smaller fires also broke out in Northern California on Tuesday: Denverton Fire Solano County and Yola Fire In Shasta County, both were smaller than 30 acres as of Tuesday afternoon.
The teams were still struggling Basin FireAs of Tuesday, the fire had burned more than 13,000 acres in the Sierra National Forest in Fresno County. The fire is 17% contained, according to Cal Fire.
The fire is a short distance from Balch Camp, an isolated community where more than 150 people were evacuated because of the fire. PG&E has power infrastructure there, but a spokesperson for the utility said none of its facilities were affected as of Tuesday morning.
Times staff writer Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.
