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Thread: Wildfire Roundup for California

  1. #1
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    Wildfire Roundup for California

    https://ktla.com/news/local-news/cre...tional-forest/

    Firefighters increased containment overnight on the Lake Fire, which has burned thousands of acres and continues to threaten homes since erupting earlier this week in the Angeles National Forest.

    The blaze had scorched 11,637 acres and was 12% contained as of 8 a.m. Friday.

    Around 3:30 p.m., Sky5 was overhead as rows of flames tore through hillsides, sending off huge plumes of smoke.

    Evacuation orders remain in place in Lake Hughes and surrounding areas. Updates on evacuation orders and road closures can be found on the Forest Service?s InciWeb Information Page.

    Evacuation shelters have been set up at Highland High School located at 39055 25th St. West in Palmdale, and at the Castaic Sports Complex at 31230 Castaic Road in Castaic.

    Assessment teams are working to determine the number of structures damaged in the fire. As of Thursday, at least three structures had been destroyed.

    More than 1,100 firefighting personnel from the Angeles National Forest and Los Angeles County Fire Department are working together to battle the blaze.

    Crews will be faced with an excessive heat warning from 11 a.m. Friday until 9 p.m. Monday. Afternoon temperatures are expected to approach 100 degrees near Lake Hughes.

    The Lake Fire was first reported about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday near Lake Hughes just north of Warm Springs.

    The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
    https://ktla.com/news/local-news/ran...ations-lifted/

    A brush fire that has scorched thousands of acres in the Angeles National Forest above Azusa is moving away from homes Friday morning, prompting officials to lift mandatory evacuations for a neighborhood that was previously threatened by the flames.

    The so-called Ranch 2 Fire had burned about 2,500 acres and was 0% contained as of Friday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The size of the fire was downgraded by 500 acres from Thursday evning?s estimate.

    Fire activity is expected to increase Friday afternoon amid the hot and dry weather conditions.

    Video late Thursday night showed the fire burning dangerously close to homes near Highwood Court and Mount Laurel Way, which had been placed under a mandatory evacuation order earlier in the day.

    About 300 homes were threatened at the time.

    Firefighters successfully kept the flames away from homes and say the blaze is moving north Friday morning toward an area previously burned in last month?s Dam Fire.

    All evacuation orders were lifted as of 11 p.m., according to a tweet from the Azusa Police Department.

    Highway 39 will remain closed as emergency vehicles remain in the area to monitor the fire, the Police Department stated.

    The fire was reported about 3 p.m. Thursday in a creek bed near the corner of San Gabriel Canyon and Ranch roads.

    The U.S. Forest Service and Los Angeles County Fire Department are working together to fight the fire.

    The blaze started as firefighters were already battling the 11,000-acre Lake Fire, also burning in the Angeles National Forest.

    Firefighters are also dealing with a heat wave in the region that has Azusa expecting temperatures in the triple-digits Friday and Saturday.
    https://ktla.com/news/local-news/sky...tions-ordered/

    A blaze, dubbed the Skyline Fire, has burned 45 acres in Corona, officials reported.

    The vegetation fire was reported around 4:37 p.m. Thursday near Skyline Drive and Foothill Parkway, southwest of Corona, the Riverside County Fire Department said.

    The blaze was initially reported to be burning 10 to 15 acres at a moderate rate of spread in ?light flashy fuels and heavy brush,? the department said. As of 8:30 p.m., officials said it had burned at least 51 acres and was 40% contained.

    On Friday, fire officials said updated mapping showed the fire had actually charred 45 acres and was 50% contained.

    The Skyline Trail was closed to the public out of an abundance of caution, city officials said on Twitter.

    Precautionary evacuations were initially in place at Clearing Circle, Meandering Lane, Burrero Way, Corbett Street and Overland Lane, but all orders were lifted around 9:15 p.m.

    At least two helicopters and two air tankers were battling the flames from above Thursday.

    Meanwhile, the region was facing high temperatures, prompting an excessive heat warning and elevated fire danger. Crews continued battling additional fires burning nearby, including the Ranch Fire in Azusa and the Lake Fire in the Lake Hughes area of the Angeles National Forest.

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    https://ktla.com/news/local-news/man...-azusa-police/

    A man suspected of intentionally starting a brush fire that scorched at least 2,256 acres in the Angeles National Forest turned himself in to Azusa police Sunday, the department said.

    Osmin Palencia, 36, was identified as an arson suspect Friday, a day after the flames ignited and quickly spread, threatening the Mountain Cove neighborhood and leading to evacuations and the closure of Highway 39.

    Palencia lived in the Azusa Canyon riverbed, near where the fire sparked at about 2:45 p.m. Thursday, investigators said.

    The blaze, dubbed the Ranch 2 Fire, was reported around 2:45 p.m. Thursday in a creek bed near the corner of San Gabriel Canyon and Ranch roads.
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    About 300 homes were threatened at the time.

    The fire flared up Saturday, with triple-digit temperatures and low humidity making the blaze more difficult to contain, fire officials said. The blaze had burned at least 1,400 acres north of Azusa by Saturday.

    As of Sunday morning, the blaze was just 7% contained at 2,256 acres.

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    Wildfire Roundup for Northern California August 2020

    https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...tning-complex/

    NAPA (CBS SF) ? New evacuations were ordered in Napa and Sonoma County from a series of lightning-caused wildfires designated together by the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit as the LNU Lightning Complex fires. The fires have collectively burned at least 12,000 acres as of Tuesday afternoon.

    In Napa County, the Hennessey Fire continued to burn with zero percent containment Tuesday afternoon, one of the North Bay wildfires in the LNU complex.

    Cal Fire said a new mandatory evacuation order issued at 7 p.m. was for

    Wragg Canyon Rd ? from Hwy 128 to the end of the road, including Pleasure Cove Resort
    Chiles Pope Valley Road ? From Lower Chiles Valley Road to Pope Canyon Road.
    Mandatory evacuations already in place:

    All of Steele Canyon Rd from Hwy 128 to and including the Berryessa Highlands Subdivision.
    All areas on Berryessa Knoxville Rd from Eastside Rd to Hwy 128 at the intersection of Berryessa Knoxville Rd / Hwy 128 (Turtle Rock Bar)
    Everything west of Lake Berryessa?s water edge
    Pope Canyon Rd from Pope Valley Rd to Berryessa Knoxville Rd., including Hardin Rd and the Sufi Center
    The intersection on Butts Canyon Road and Snell Valley Road to all of Berryessa Estates Sub Division
    From Moskowite Corner to Wooden Valley Rd, Including the community of Circle Oaks
    Atlas Peak from the Bubbing Well Pet Cemetary at 2462 Atlas Peak Rd to the dead end
    From Loma Vista Rd / Soda Canyon Rd to the dead end.
    Highway 128 from Chiles Valley Road to Monticello Road
    Chiles Pope Valley Road from Highway 128 to Lower Chiles Valley Road
    All of Hennessey Ridge Road
    In addition, an evacuation warning was in effect for:

    Highway 128 at Silverado Trail to Chiles Pope Valley Road, including the Pritchard Hills area
    Highway 128 at Lower Chiles Valley Road to Turtle Rock
    Butts Canyon Rd from the Lake County line to James Creek.
    An evacuation center is located at Crosswalk Community Church, located at 2590 First Street, in Napa. Authorities have also shut down Chiles Valley Road, Sage Canyon Road and Highway 128.

    In Sonoma County, Cal Fire says two wildfires have also prompted evacuations. The fires in the western portion of the county were dubbed the 13-4 Fire and the 11-16 Fire.

    Mandatory evacuations were ordered for:

    Entire area of Zone 1D (1D1, 1D2, 1D3, 1D4, 1D5)
    East of the Sonoma Coast from Fort Ross Rd.to the Russian River
    North and East of the Russian River
    South of Sweetwater Springs Rd. and south of Fort Ross Rd.
    South of Stewarts Point Skaggs Springs Road
    West of West Dry Creek Road and Westside Road
    North of Sweetwater Springs Road and McCray Ridge Road
    East of the East Austin Creek (the actual creek)
    West of Meyers Grade Road to the coast
    South of Fort Ross Road
    North of the intersection of Meyers Grade Road at Highway 1
    North of Austin Creek Recreational Area
    East of The Cedars
    Mill Creek Road west of the intersection of Puccioni Road
    With the situation deteriorating in wine country and elsewhere, Gov. Gavin Newson declared a statewide emergency Tuesday to help ensure the availability of vital resources to combat fires burning across the state.

    ?We are deploying every resource available to keep communities safe as California battles fires across the state during these extreme conditions,? Newsom said.

    The North Bay wildfires comprising the LNU Lightning Complex fires were the Hennessey Fire, the Gamble Fire, and the 15-10 Fire in Napa County, along with the 13-4 Fire and 11-16 Fire in Sonoma County.

    As of Tuesday afternoon, the Hennessey Fire had burned 2,700 acres, destroying one structure and two outbuildings. The Gamble Fire was burning in an area off Berryessa Knoxville Road north of Lake Berryessa and west of state Highway 16 and has burned 5,000 acres. The 15-10 Fire was burning near the Putah Bridge and was at 4,500 acres.

    There was zero containment on all the fires as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. Neither the Gamble incident nor the 15-10 incident were threatening structures.

    Early Tuesday, a small army of firefighters deployed along Lower Chiles Road, preparing to do battle with the advancing wall of flames from the Hennessey Fire which continued to rage out-of-control and had burned through more than 2,700 acres.

    Nearby stood Phil Sunseri and a group of workers from the Nichelini Winery, the famed wine-growing region?s oldest family-owned winery built in 1890. They had prepared for this moment for years since wildfires began roaring through the region.

    ?We?ve prepared for fire every year,? he said. ?The fire can be overwhelming. You just do the best you can.?

    Winery employees had cut firebreaks on the property and were working as guides for firefighters, showing them how to tap into the winery?s water system and the best places to battle the fire. Still, Sunseri knows it may not be enough.

    ?When it gets to a certain stage, we will leave,? he said.

    The fire started in the 60 block of Hennessey Ridge Road, east of St. Helena early Monday morning as the region was being pelted by dry lightning strikes.

    The lightning had kept some in Napa County up for two nights straight, worried about lightning-strike fires.

    ?Last night it was loud and I could tell it was close, but I imagine lightning might?ve had something to do with it,? said Nicholini Winery President Bill Narlock. ?You can?t replace it. We?re gonna do everything we can to protect it.?

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    https://abc7news.com/atlas-peak-fire...n-bay/6374881/

    SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A record-breaking heat wave combined with thousands of lightning strikes has sparked several wildfires around the Bay Area.

    Here's what you need to know about the fires burning right now:

    CZU August Fire/La Honda Fire
    San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties
    A fire spread Tuesday west of Skyline Boulevard in San Mateo County in an area where 200 to 300 people live. About 100 structures are threatened, according to CAL FIRE. The fires have been smoldering since they were presumably started by lightning strikes on Sunday, but really grew on Tuesday. Pescadero Creek, Memorial and Sam McDonald parks are all closed due to the fire, according to San Mateo County Parks.
    Acres burned: 1,000
    Containment: 0%

    Evacuation orders in San Mateo County:

    Butano Community Area
    Community of Loma Mar
    Dearborn Park
    Pescadero Creek County Park
    Butano State Park area including Barranca Knolls community
    Butano Creek drainage area


    NAPA FIRES: Mandatory evacuations ordered near Hennessey Fire

    LNU Lightning Complex Fires
    Napa County
    The Lightning Complex is made up of three large fires: Hennessey, Gamble and 15-10, which are all burning in Napa County. So far, three structures have been damaged and another 205 are threatened. See more on the size of the individual fires below.

    15-10 Fire
    The 15-10 Fire is burning near Putah Creek Bridge and Berryessa Knoxville Road, on the west side of Lake Berryessa between the Gamble and Hennessey fires.
    Acres burned: 4,500
    Containment: 0%

    Gamble Fire
    The Gamble Fire is burning northeast of the Hennessey Fire (see below), near Lake Berryessa. It started Monday on Berryessa Knoxville Road west of Brooks.
    Acres burned: 5,000
    Containment: 0%

    Hennessey Fire
    The fire in Napa County broke out near Hennessey Ridge Road and Chiles Pope Valley Road, east of St Helena, Monday morning and began to spread quickly. "Crews are dealing with rugged terrain, adverse weather, and unfavorable fire conditions," CAL Fire said in an update Monday. The area was hit by lightning Monday morning.
    Acres burned: 2,700
    Containment: 0%

    Evacuation orders in Napa County:

    Wragg Canyon Rd - from Hwy 128 to the end of the road, including Pleasure Cove Resort
    Chiles Pope Valley Road - From Lower Chiles Valley Road to Pope Canyon Road
    All of Berryessa Knoxville Road from the intersection with Highway 128 (southwest of Lake Berryessa) to the intersection with Eastside Road (northeast of the lake)
    Everything immediately west of Lake Berryessa
    Pope Canyon Road from Pope Valley Road to Berryessa Knoxville Road
    From Moskowite Corner to Wooden Valley Road, including the community of Circle Oaks
    Atlas Peak from the Bubbing Well Pet Cemetary at 2462 Atlas Peak Rd. to the dead end
    From Loma Vista Drive and Soda Canyon Road to the dead end
    Snell Valley Road from Butts Canyon Road to Spanish Valley Trail, including the Berryessa estates
    Highway 128 from Lower Chiles Valley Road to Monticello Road
    Highway 128 from Chiles Pope Valley Road to Lower Chiles Valley Road
    Chiles Pope Valley Road from Highway 128 to Lower Chiles Valley Road
    All of Hennessey Ridge Road

    Evacuation warnings in Napa County:

    Butts Canyon Road from the Lake County line to James Creek
    Highway 128 at Silverado Trail to Chiles Pope Valley Road, including the Pritchard Hills Area
    Highway 128 at Lower Chiles Valley Road to Turtle Rock

    Road closures:

    Highway 128
    Sage Canyon Road
    Chiles Pope Valley Road
    Lower Chiles Valley Road


    Austin Creek Fire/13-4 Fire
    Sonoma County
    A fire is burning near Venado in Sonoma County.
    Acres burned: TBD
    Containment: 0%

    Evacuation orders in Sonoma County:

    North of Austin Creek Recreational Area
    East of The Cedars
    West of end of Mill Creek Road
    South of Stewarts Point-Skaggs Springs Road
    West of West Dry Creek Road and Westside Road
    North of Sweetwater Springs Road and McCray Ridge Road
    East of the East Austin Creek (the actual creek)


    SCU Lightning Complex Fires

    Twenty different fires across several counties are broken into three zones: Deer Zone, Calaveras Zone and Canyon Zone. They have burned 25,000 acres combined so far. The fires are burning in steep, dry areas, making it challenging for firefighters to attack them. Lightning is the suspected cause in many of the fires.
    Acres burned: 25,000
    Containment: 0%


    Deer Zone Fires
    Contra Costa County
    Includes the Marsh Fire, Palm Fire, Round Fire and Briones Fire

    Calaveras Zone Fires
    Santa Clara, Alameda and Stanislaus counties
    Includes the Kilkare Fire, Arroyo Fire, Mill Creek Fire, Welch Fire, Ohlone Fire and Reservoir Fire

    Canyon Zone Fires
    San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties
    Includes the Peg Leg Fire, Terraville Fire, Del Puerto Fire and Peach Fire

    Evacuation orders:

    Alameda/Stanislaus County:
    Frank Rains Park to Mines Road
    Del Puerto Canyon Road 1 mile to Mines Road

    Alameda County:
    Welch Creek Road

    Contra Costa County:
    Marsh Creek Road at Round Valley to Morgan Territory
    All of Morgan Territory and the mobile home park on Marsh Creek Road

    Evacuation warnings:

    Alameda County:
    Mill Creek Road

    Road closures:
    Marsh Creek Road between Morgan Territory Road and Deer Valley Road
    Del Puerto Canyon Road (SR-130) between Mines Road and Diablo Grande Parkway


    4-6 Fire
    Marin County
    A fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in Point Reyes National Seashore adjacent to the Woodward Trail. There were no immediate evacuations or structures threatened, according to Marin County Fire, but the area was difficult for crews to access.
    Acres burned: 50
    Containment: 0%


    This story will be updated as firefighters get blazes under control or new fires break out. Check back for updates.

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    https://www.kcra.com/article/evacuat...-road/33622917

    NEVADA COUNTY, Calif. —
    Evacuation orders were expanded Tuesday for thousands of people as a slope-driven wildfire continues to burn in Nevada County.

    The fire, called the Jones Fire, was ignited by lightning Sunday night in the South Yuba River canyon off Jones Bar Road, northwest of Nevada City. About 4,000 residents are under evacuation orders, according to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.

    As of Tuesday night, the fire had charred 650 acres and was 15% contained, according to Cal Fire. Four houses and "several" outbuildings were destroyed in the fire, the sheriff's office said.

    EVACUATIONS IN PLACE
    Officials expanded mandatory evacuations and issued warnings Tuesday as crews continued to fight the wildfire.

    Mandatory evacuations were ordered for:

    Jones Bar Road north of Woolman
    Areas north of Ridge Road
    North side of Newton Road
    Lois Lane
    Monte Vista
    Jones Bar
    Empress Cross
    Personeni Lane
    Elizabeth
    Bodie Ridge Road
    Indian Shack Road
    Diamond Oaks Drive
    Applewood Lane
    Lazy Oaks Drive
    Excelsior Ditch Camp Road
    Leisure Lane
    Augustine Road
    Daisy Blue Mine Road
    Crystal View Heights
    Golden Oak Court
    Cement Hill Road
    Fox Hill Road
    Ragon Road
    Whispering Oaks Lane
    Mount Auburn Circle
    Gochine Drive
    Sunrock Road
    Some 11,600 residents were under evacuation warnings Tuesday. Evacuation warnings, which means residents should get ready to leave, were issued for:

    Wet Hill Road
    West Airport Road
    Rock Creek Road
    Alderwood
    Lake Vera Purdon Road
    Selby Lane
    Misty meadow Lane
    West Mandolin Way
    New Rome Road
    Dylan Court
    Eaglepine Place
    Grunt Hill Road
    Marigold Way
    Rabb Road
    Rector Road
    Kimberly Court
    Jeanette Road
    Running Horse Road
    Quaillan Way
    Round Mountain Ranch Road
    Anglewood Lane
    Bear Run Lane
    Hudson Way
    Trailhead Road
    Purdon Road
    B-4 Ranch Road
    Glass Road
    Deerhaven Lane
    Road closures are in place at Rough and Ready Highway and Bitney Springs Road.

    Nevada County officials created a website for people to get a closer look at evacuation orders and warnings. See the details here.

    This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
    Traffic on Hwy 49 near intersection with Hwy 20.

    It looks like this is traffic due to evacuations from #JonesFire pic.twitter.com/JkdNPc8IpP

    — Emily Maher (@EmilyMaherTV) August 18, 2020
    Officials expanded evacuations Monday afternoon when the fire began moving toward Nevada City. Cal Fire said there were a lot of unexpected winds, which pushed the flames through contingency fire lines.

    Commander Division Chief Jim Mathias said in a Facebook post that Cal Fire is being "overaggressive" with evacuations so residents can get out early due to the "rapid fire spread."

    This content is imported from Facebook. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
    A temporary evacuation center was set up at Ready Springs School, located on Spencerville Road in Penn Valley. Animals can be taken to the Nevada County Fairgrounds.

    BATTLING THE BLAZE
    Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said Monday the fire can potentially grow toward the cities of Grass Valley and Nevada City.

    "We really want to make sure people heed the warnings, heed the advisories," Moon said. "Prepare, plan to get out to a safe location. Notify your family."

    The fire is burning in steep terrain where access is difficult. Crews are attacking the fire from the air and the ground.

    "This fire is in extremely rugged terrain here in Nevada county," Cal Fire Chief Brian Estes said Monday. "Probably one of our target hazards, our greatest threats, which is the multiple forks of the Yuba River drainage. This is the south fork, which comes up into the communities of Grass Valley and Yuba City." Firefighters are also working during extreme triple-digit heat and low humidity.

    "This is definitely on the extreme of what our folks are prepared to do," Estes said. "We’ve been seeing conditions out here on this fire from 105 to 108 (degrees), with very, very low humidity, very little recovery at night. And then with that some very dry, hot northwest winds."

    Moon said there is a resource issue while crews battle the flames.

    "Clearly, throughout the entire state, with this many fires going on, there’s a resource issue with 'Do we have enough firefighters to try and contain this thing?,'" Moon said, adding, "It's an unbelievable attack they’re trying to take on to this fire."

    Nevada County fire
    Nevada County Sheriff's Office
    The threat of rolling blackouts also complicated evacuation plans, officials said.

    "With the high temperatures, we understand there’s a heavy load with PG&E infrastructure," Moon said. "In a fire, one of the ways we contact our public is through either a cell phone call or telephone call, we need that power to be on for our folks to be able to hear those things."

    Moon added that the potential outage "just adds another layer of anxiety for folks, you don’t know what's going to happen if you don’t have your power on."

    Estes said Cal Fire operations are powered by a generator, so firefighters would not be impacted by an outage. But, an outage would be an issue with evacuations.

    "We’re in a situation where we’re looking at evacuation of residents here from Nevada County, it really just adds a level of complication," Estes explained. "We’re working really closely with PG&E, as we do on any of our instances, to try to lessen those impacts to the fire."

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    https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/c...fires/2414547/

    Northern LA County

    In the mountains and desert of northern Los Angeles County, the 6-day-old Lake Fire was more than 19,000 acres and 38% contained. The blaze, which consumed thousands of acres of brush in its first few hours, had more moderate behavior by Sunday but about 4,500 homes remained at risk, county Supervisor Kathryn said.

    A dozen structures, including homes, have been destroyed there. Smoke from the Lake Fire and smaller fires in mountains east and west of Los Angeles led regulators to declare unhealthy air quality for a wide area of suburbs.

    Lake PIru

    A blaze in mountains near Lake Piru in Ventura County sent up a towering plume visible for miles. The Holser Fire was burning in a remote area of the Holser Canyon in unincorporated Piru. The fire was moving east toward Los Angeles County, Ventura County Fire officials said.

    It was estimated at 3,000 acres late Monday with 20 percent containment Tuesday.

    Azusa Fire

    The Ranch 2 Fire in Azusa was at more than 3,000 acres and 19-percent contained Tuesday morning. The fire is along Highway 39 in the Azusa area. A man has been taken into custody as part of an arson investigation.

    Riverside County

    The Apple Fire off of Oak Glen Road and Apple Tree Lane, north of Cherry Valley in Riverside County, was at 33,400 acres and 95-percent contained Tuesday morning.

    Mojave National Preserve

    To the south, a fire sparked by lightning over the weekend in a remote desert region charred more than 65 square miles (168 square kilometers) of scrub brush and Joshua trees in the Mojave National Preserve. There was zero containment.

    Napa County

    Several lightning-sparked fires prompted evacuation orders and warnings across the San Francisco Bay Area, including a fast-growing blaze to the north in rural Napa County. In the East Bay, crews protected canyon homes from flames churning through dry brush near Milpitas.

    Monterey County

    Elsewhere, the River Fire south of Salinas in Monterey County was 10% surrounded after burning five buildings, including at least one home. Authorities reported four people injured since it was ignited by lightning Sunday.

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    https://ktla.com/news/california/rec...ss-california/

    A record-breaking heat wave coupled with rare summer thunderstorms are fueling wildfires across California, with more than 30 burning several hundred square miles Tuesday.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency surrounding the situation Tuesday afternoon, which he said should help free up resources to combat the fires.

    “We are deploying every resource available to keep communities safe as California battles fires across the state during these extreme conditions,” the governor said in a statement.

    The operator of California’s energy grid, the California Independent System Operator, also declared a Stage 2 emergency Tuesday and said power shutoffs and imminent. A Flex Alert would remain in effect until 10 p.m.

    Nearly 42 million people will be under some type of heat warning in California this week, with some warnings lasting through Thursday and Friday, according to CNN meteorologist Michael Guy.

    Temperatures have surpassed 100 degrees in parts of the state, with Death Valley reaching a record breaking 130 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend.

    ‘Extraordinary unprecedented historic event’
    The current combination of extreme heat, thunderstorms and wildfires across parts of California is an “extraordinary unprecedented historic event,” Brian Garcia, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in the San Francisco Bay Area told CNN.

    Heatwaves of this magnitude don’t typically last a full week in California, Garcia said, and with thunderstorms that are producing lightning also forecast in the Bay Area, the likelihood of a wildfire being ignited and spread is much higher than usual.

    “I’ve been following California’s weather for 15 years and I haven’t seen it in my career,” Garcia said. “There are others in this office who have been here for 20 to 30 years who haven’t seen it in their careers either.”

    Garcia said that the record breaking temperatures in California are also intense because the state is in a pressure cooker-like situation where an area of high pressure situated over the southwestern portion of Utah is pushing down on most of the state of California. In other words, the air is pushing down, heating up, and remaining very stationary over the state.

    Garcia said August will probably be one of the warmest months on record for California if the current hot temperatures end up outweighing the temperatures from the first half of the month that were fairly pleasant and cool. He added that 2020 may also be one of the hottest years California has seen to date.

    “I think when we take a look back at this this year as a whole — in line with everything else that has been going on in the world to make 2020 as crazy as it is — it will probably be one of the warmest years on record for California,” Garcia said. “Although we don’t know those numbers yet… if it continues on that route then yes, we will be able to start to attribute to some degree the stretches that we’ve seen in this year to global climate change.”

    At least three cities in the state reported a new record temperature on Monday, a tweet from NWS San Diego said.

    Fires still blazing
    A total of 38 wildfires are still burning, many of them in Northern California, according to the Los Angeles Times.

    The largest fire was the Dome Fire in Mojave National Preserve in the southeast part of the state, which has burned 42,838 acres and was 5% contained, according to fire officials.

    The Apple Fire straddling San Bernardino and Riverside counties is also among the largest, burning 33,424 acres since it started on July 31. Fire crews have been battling the blaze for weeks, and it is 95% contained, according to InciWeb.

    In Monterey County, the River Fire has threatened at least 1,500 structures, according to Cal Fire. Six have already been destroyed and two have suffered damage in the 3,800 acre blaze that left four firefighters with minor injuries, Cal Fire said.

    Smoke from these fires is also a concern for residents as air quality warnings continue in the Southern Joaquin Valley, according to CNN meteorologist Michael Guy. These will not expire until the fires are extinguished.

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    It's so smoky here. I woke up this morning and was like, it's still dark out??? But no, it was all the smoke...


    Quote Originally Posted by marakisses View Post
    yes i said i will leave it under you storage he said cuddle with me i said shut up it over??? what am i doing wrong??
    Quote Originally Posted by curiouscat View Post
    Happy Birthday! I hid a dead body in your backyard to celebrate. Good luck finding it under the cement. You can only use a stick to look for it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nic B View Post
    It's so smoky here. I woke up this morning and was like, it's still dark out??? But no, it was all the smoke...
    Some of the Smoke that is heading to Sacramento might be from this fire in Vacaville

    VACAVILLE, Calif. —

    Several homes have burned and urgent evacuations were ordered as a wildfire moved into Solano County overnight.

    Officials have ordered evacuations for parts of Fairfield on Wednesday afternoon as the fire continues to progress further into Solano County. The Rancho Solano and Sanctuary neighborhoods were told to leave immediately.
    The Rolling Hills neighborhoods in Fairfield were also ordered to evacuate.

    People on the edge of urban Vacaville were evacuated early Wednesday morning. Police and firefighters went door-to-door before dawn in a frantic scramble to warn residents to evacuate as fire encroached on the city of about 100,000.

    “This is an incredibly emotional and stressful time for most of us who’ve endured a number of wildfires over the last few years," said Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick. He reminded people about sirens that have been installed in recent years to tell people to evacuate.

    “High-low siren means it’s time to go," he said.

    According to the Solano County Sheriff's Office, the evacuation orders have expanded to include the following areas:

    Residents in Solano County west of Blue Ridge Road to 505 and north of Cherry Glen Road to Highway 128
    Shelton Lane, Vacaville and north / west Browns Valley Road, Vacaville
    Rockville Rd. / Suisun Valley Rd. / Gordon Valley Rd. / Wooden Valley Rd. / Clayton Rd. and Mankas Corner

    According to the Solano County Office of Emergency Services, evacuation centers include:

    VACAVILLE

    Vacaville Ice Rink - 551 Davis Street, Vacaville CA 95688
    McBride Senior Center - 91 Town Square Pl, Vacaville, CA 95688
    Ulatis Community Center - 1000 Ulatis Dr, Vacaville, CA 95687 (Ulatis is a 24/hr shelter with beds)

    FAIRFIELD/SUISUN

    Fairfield High School on 205 East Atlantic Avenue, Fairfield CA 94534
    Rodrigues High School on 5000 Red Top Road, Fairfield CA 94534
    Joseph Nelson Community Center - 611 Village Center Dr, Suisun City, CA 94585
    Lambrecht Sports Complex - Lambrecht Dr, Suisun City, CA 94584 (trailers, large animals accepted)
    Old Walmart Parking Lot - 300 Chadbourne Rd, Fairfield, CA 94533
    Guru Nanak Sikh Temple* – 2948 Rockville Rd, Fairfield, CA 94533 (*service animals accepted, please do not bring meat for consumption at this site)

    ANIMAL SITES

    Vallejo Fairgrounds - 900 Fairgrounds Dr, Vallejo, CA 94589 (large animals are being accepted)
    Solano County Animal Shelter - 2510 Claybank Road (small animals are being accepted)

    The sheriff's office is asking people who are unable to get a hold of a loved one in Solano County to call its Missing Persons Unit at 707-784-1613 or 707-784-1607.

    The fire kicked up around around 10 to 11 p.m. Tuesday night, the Vacaville Fire Department said. There were winds up to 30 mph that pushed the flames into the outskirts of downtown Vacaville right up to the backs of homes.

    Early Wednesday morning, fire crews were seen trying to protect homes and rescuing animals from the fire.

    The fire, called the LNU Lightning Complex, is made up of several fires burning near each other. Evacuation orders were also issued for Napa and Sonoma counties. At least 50 structures were destroyed, 50 were damaged and four people suffered burn injuries, according to Cal Fire.






  10. #10
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    Here is the Hennessy fire.

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    https://abc7news.com/lnu-lightning-c...e-map/6378833/

    VACAVILLE, Calif. (KGO) -- Imagine getting woken up in the middle of the night and being forced to get out of your house because of a wildfire.

    That's, once again, the scary reality as tens of thousands of people are evacuated due to hundreds of fires. That includes the Vacaville area, where dozens of homes have burned including one that's very special to the community: The Yin Ranch on Pleasants Valley Road. That's the home of the immigrant turned McDonald's entrepreneur who represents the American Dream - CC Yin.

    ABC 7 News saluted CC Yin during Asian-American Pacific Islander heritage month in May, because his non-profit donated millions of PPE to frontline workers battling the coronavirus pandemic.

    Yin, his daughter Mary and Vacaville's Fire Chief joined ABC7 News Anchor Kristen Sze on "Getting Answers" to talk about being evacuated and the aftermath.

    "The entire area is wiped out by the wildfires," CC said. "Our ranch managers, workers and our friends came in to help us out. Taking water from the lake, walking 2,000 feet" to try and prevent the fire from causing any more damage.

    Although, photos CC sent us show a lot of damage had already happened to the ranch.

    "I can vouch for the Yins kindness to the community," Vacaville Fire Chief Kris Concepcion said." Our entire community has been recipients of his generosity. Unfortunately, our resources were spread very thin." Concepcion said they had about 3,000 homes being threatened within city limits. "In almost 30 years in the fire service, it's very rare that I've seen the type of fire behavior that we saw last night. I saw a wall of flames about 40-feet high just travel into the city."

    The Yin Ranch is used for many reasons including a wedding venue. In fact, Concepcion said they held their first public safety awards ceremony at the ranch. "That breaks my heart to see what happened there," Concepcion said.
    It was the most painful and agonizing night last night," Mary said. "Everything happened so fast." Mary thanked Kris and the fire department for their work to save as many homes as they could.

    Yin added that firefighters, police officers and those on the front lines can get free breakfast, lunch and dinner at any of the McDonald's locations that Yin owns in Solano County.


  12. #12
    Scoopski Potatoes Nic B's Avatar
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    I work in West Sac which is closer to Vacaville than where I live. Explains why it's so much worse here at work. It smells like a BBQ out here.


    Quote Originally Posted by marakisses View Post
    yes i said i will leave it under you storage he said cuddle with me i said shut up it over??? what am i doing wrong??
    Quote Originally Posted by curiouscat View Post
    Happy Birthday! I hid a dead body in your backyard to celebrate. Good luck finding it under the cement. You can only use a stick to look for it.

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    I expect PG&E, SoCal Edision and SMUD to get sued for failing to stop wildfire hazards after the fires are over after Calfire is done investigating causes for this wildfire.

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    https://www.foxla.com/news/23-major-...oss-california

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said there are 23 major fires burning throughout the state from the East Bay down to Southern California.

    In addition to the major fires, there are more than 350 other smaller ones.

    So far, there have been 6,754 fires since the start of this year compared to 4,000 last year.

    "This fire season has been very active," he said. And the blazes have "stretched the resources of this state."

    The astounding number of fires had fatal consequences on Wednesday. A helicopter pilot died during a mission to dump fire on the Hills Fire near Coalinga in Fresno County. The pilot was the only person on board the chopper, Cal Fire said. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation into the crash.

    Most of the fires occurred as a result of the more than 10,400 lightning strikes over the last few days, coupled with record heat.

    In that vein, he said California has formed partnerships with the U.S, Forest Service to get backup help including $85 million for firefighting in the state budget.

    Many of those fires are burning in the Bay Area, from the Hennessey Fire in the North Bay, to the SCU Fire Complex in the East Bay and beyond, and the CZU Fire in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties.

    All of which are raging and nowhere near contained.

    On Tuesday, Newsom declared a statewide emergency over the fires burning across the state and the governor's office said the emergency declaration will help ensure the availability of vital resources to help combat fires burning at each end of the state.

    This story was reported from Oakland, Calif.

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    https://www.foxla.com/news/massive-b...ent-reaches-36

    LAKE HUGHES, Calif. - The wildfire burning near Lake Hughes is 36% contained as of Wednesday evening and moving farther into the Angeles National Forest, toward 100-year-old fuels consisting of Big Cone Douglas fir, Oak and Gray pine trees.

    The fire has burned 26,213 acres since it began on Aug. 12 and has destroyed 12 structures and 21 outbuildings, damaged three other structures and threatened 4,570 structures, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Full containment is not expected until Sept. 2.

    One person has been injured, but details of the injury were not disclosed.

    The left flank of the fire in the area of Sawmill Mountain, Burnt Peak and Little Burnt Peak is presenting the most challenging fire behavior, the department said, adding containment along Pine Mountain Road will continue to be threatened by spot fires.

    An excessive heat warning calling for temperatures between 98 and 110 degrees is in effect until 9 p.m. Thursday for the Santa Clarita, San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.

    "Crews will watch for fire whirls, or fire devils, a spinning vortex column of ascending hot air and gases rising from a fire,'' the department said in a statement.

    LA County Fire Chief Daryl L. Osby said during a press conference Thursday morning, not only were firefighters up against inaccessible terrain, but were also bracing for hot and dry conditions into the weekend and into early next week.

    Osby added the fire progressed rapidly and areas of the fire have not burned in decades.

    Watch Thursday's update on the Lake Fire below:

    The "Lake Fire" was reported at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday near North Lake Hughes Road and Pine Canyon Road in the Angeles National Forest, according to Marvin Lim of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which was assisting Angels National Forest crews, as well as assistance from the Los Angeles, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Monterey Park, Glendale and Santa Monica fire departments.
    The blaze had a "rapid rate of spread," and the ANF called in a second-alarm response at about 4 p.m.

    By 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the flames had burned 400 acres, and officials said the fire had the potential to burn 1,000 acres, according to the department. That quickly changed two hours later, when the flames exploded across an estimated 10,000 acres, with no containment.

    By 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, the flames had jumped Pine Canyon Road, two miles west of Lake Hughes Road, and shortly after, flames were seen on aerial footage burning structures that appeared to be homes in the area.

    The fire was entirely on federal land, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
    Evacuation orders

    Authorities said evacuation orders were in effect for the following areas:

    • Lake Hughes Road West of Pine Canyon and north of Dry Gulch Road

    •East of Ridge Route Road, west of Lake Hughes Road and Fire Station 78

    •North of Pine Canyon and Lake Hughes Road and south of SR-138.

    Evacuation centers

    The Red Cross opened two evacuation centers that have since been closed displaced residents.

    The temporary evacuation centers were located at the following locations:

    •Highland High School in Palmdale (closed at noon Monday).

    • Castaic Sports Complex (closed Friday).

    The American Red Cross said it would set up an additional evacuation center at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds for people and small animals in Lancaster, if needed, and would also provide virtual assistance to affected residents. Large animals were being taken to the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds.

    Road closures

    San Francisquito Canyon Road was reopened Monday, but road closures remained in place on Three Points Road from state Route 138 to Pine Canyon, Old Ridge Route from Highway 138 to Pine Canyon, and Pine Canyon Road from Ridge Route Road to Lake Hughes Road.

    The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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    https://www.ktvu.com/news/california...-to-santa-cruz

    VACAVILLE, Calif. - Thousands of people were under orders to evacuate broad areas of Northern California Wednesday as some 30 wildfires blazed across the state amid a blistering heat wave now in its second week.

    “Throughout the state of California right now, we are stretched thin for crews” because of the fires, said Will Powers, a state fire spokesman. “Air resources have been stretched thin throughout the whole state.”

    Thousands of homes and businesses were threatened in the wine-growing counties of Napa and Sonoma in an area devastated by a series of deadly blazes in the last three years. At least seven fires were grouped together as one of two major Lightning Fires in Northern California, a nod to the bolts of lightning that ignited fires in the Bay Area.

    Parts of the Bay Area not directly threatened by wildfires were still confronted by poor air quality on Wednesday. "The air quality will be very poor for the foreseeable future," the National Weather Service said.

    By Wednesday, the LNU fires had burned 50 square miles and was 0% contained. To put that in perspective, that’s about the size of the entire city of Vallejo.

    Authorities issued several evacuation orders in Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties.

    Police and firefighters went door-to-door in Vacaville early Wednesday in a frantic scramble to warn residents to evacuate. Footage showed some homes in flames.

    Christa Haefner had to evacuate.

    "More than anything we’re worried about our animals," she said. "They don’t handle stress well."

    Mandatory evacuation orders issued for Hennessey Fire residents in rural Napa County

    CZU Fire: 22,000 residents told to evacuate in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties

    Fire officials warned of “extreme fire behavior” challenging firefighters there, including strong winds. Powers said much of the fire was burning through rural areas with steep terrain, making it difficult to get crews in. Wednesday's weather wasn't going to help. Temperatures were expected to soar past 100 degrees in many inland spots.

    Blazes engulfed rural and forest areas near the San Francisco Bay Area, near Salinas in Monterey County, around Oroville Dam north of Sacramento, forested areas west of Silicon Valley, in remote Mendocino County and near the Nevada state line north of Lake Tahoe.

    The cluster of wine country fires threatens an area that only last year grappled with another massive blaze that forced 200,000 to flee. Evacuating residents will be a more complicated task this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. There are health concerns about sheltering large groups of people in gymnasiums, community centers and other spaces that typically serve as a refuge for people fleeing fires.

    On Tuesday afternoon, the fire was moving toward an area called Atlas Peak that burned in 2017 in a blaze that killed six people and destroyed nearly 800 buildings.

    Robin Sisemore hosed down vegetation in front of her mother’s adjacent house. Both homes were new, replacing ones that burned just three years ago.

    To the south, evacuations were ordered for all of Boulder Creek to the west of Silicon Valley, a community of 5,000 high in the Santa Cruz mountains where windy, long, forested roads, some paved, some dirt, can easily become blocked during storms or fires.

    That fire is being called the CZU fire and was burning across both San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties. Evacuations were ordered there too. As of Wednesday morning, the fire had burned 7,500 acres.

    Cal Fire spokesman Jonathan Cox said that the fires were actually 22 smaller blazes merged togther.

    "It's a very active timber fire," Cox said. "And a very serious threat to public safety."

    As of Wednesday morning, the CZU Fire had burned 10,000 acres and 22,000 people had been evacuated in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.

    On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a statewide state of emergency due the outbreak of fires and extreme heat.

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    https://www.foxla.com/news/los-angel...amid-heat-wave

    LOS ANGELES - About 4,800 Los Angeles Department of Water & Power customers were without power Wednesday morning due to a strain on the utility's distribution system caused by high temperatures.

    At the height of the outage Tuesday evening, at least 12,000 customers were without power, according to DWP spokesman Joe Ramallo.

    "Extreme heat and electricity demand has caused outages in parts of Los Angeles, currently affecting some LADWP customers," Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Twitter Tuesday night. "Crews are working hard to restore power as quickly as possible."

    RELATED: Statewide Flex Alert issued through Wednesday; Californians urged to conserve electricity

    LADWP said it could take between four and 12 hours for power to be restored.

    As of 4 a.m., 4,813 customers were without power, mostly in the Sun Valley, West Hills, Elysian Valley and Echo Park areas. Smaller outages were reported in Canoga Park, Panorama City, Arleta, Tujunga, Beverly Grove, Westlake and Mid-City affecting 160 or fewer customers.

    As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, 12,000 customers were without power, according to Ramallo. At 5 p.m., the number of customers offline was 9,000.

    An outage in East Hollywood affecting 57 customers was connected to a fallen tree that took out some power lines, he said.

    The outages were not related to a dip in power supply but caused by the utility's distribution system being strained by the high temperatures, Ramallo said.

    Repair crews took advantage of cooler temperatures overnight to make progress in restoring power to affected customers and teams will work around the clock to get customers back online, Ramallo said.

    LADWP provided assistance to the state grid in the form of surplus energy to keep blackouts from occurring throughout the state. The utility provided 500 megawatts of power on Monday and between 400 and 700 megawatts to the state power grid on Tuesday, Ramallo said, adding LADWP provided 20 megawatts to the Imperial Irrigation District in Riverside County's Coachella Valley to help prevent blackouts in that part of the state.

    The DWP provides power to 1.5 million customers across Los Angeles

  18. #18
    Scoopski Potatoes Nic B's Avatar
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    Last 2 mornings I woke up with ash all over my car...


    Quote Originally Posted by marakisses View Post
    yes i said i will leave it under you storage he said cuddle with me i said shut up it over??? what am i doing wrong??
    Quote Originally Posted by curiouscat View Post
    Happy Birthday! I hid a dead body in your backyard to celebrate. Good luck finding it under the cement. You can only use a stick to look for it.

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    https://fox40.com/news/local-news/tr...solano-county/

    SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. (KTXL) — All non-mission essential personnel were ordered to evacuate Travis Air Force Base Wednesday evening, according to a statement released by base officials.

    The evacuation orders are in response to the spread of the LNU Lightning Complex fires, which have burned 124,100 acres, including areas along Interstate 80 near Fairfield and Vacaville, as of 7:12 p.m.

    The 60th Air Mobility Wing Commander gave the order for all non-mission essential personnel living in Travis AFB housing or lodging to evacuate immediately out of the South and North gates.

    The orders instructed evacuees to not use the base’s Main Gate or Hospital Gates.

    Base officials said, “There is currently no lodging available on Travis Air Force Base and members are directed to stay with family or friends, proceed to evacuation centers, or secure commercial lodging outside of the evacuation area.”

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    https://abc7news.com/pg-e-worker-die...dfire/6379686/

    Update a member of the PG&E crew has died in Vacaville while responding to a fire hazard in the area.

    VACAVILLE, Calif. (KGO) -- A Vacaville-based Pacific Gas and Electric worker has died while assisting first responders as they dealt with the LNU Complex Fire, PG&E has confirmed.

    According to PG&E, the employee was found unresponsive in the Gates Canyon area just outside of Vacaville on Tuesday. The worker was taken to the hospital where he died.

    PG&E said the employee was in Gates Canyon clearing poles and lines to make the area safer for first responders.

    This is the first reported death in connection to this weeks Bay Area fires.

    A helicopter making water drops over the Hills Fire in Western Fresno County crashed on Wednesday, killing the pilot.

    Cal Fire says four civilians were injured from the LNU Complex Fire,which is made up of several fires.

    The fires stretch across Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Lake and Yolo counties. In total 124,100 acres have been burned with no containment. According to Cal Fire, the fire has destroyed 105 homes and is threatening another 25,000 homes.

  21. #21
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    https://www.sfgate.com/california-wi...e-15497215.php

    Update there is a report of 4 deaths in relation to some of California's wildfires

    Multiple wildfires are burning in the greater North Bay. Cal Fire is referring to them collectively as the LNU Lightning Complex. LNU stands for Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, and you can find the latest evacuation info here. The biggest fires are:

    Hennessey Fire (merged with Gamble, Green, Aetna, Markley, Morgan, Spanish and Round): Napa County, 192,000 acres

    Walbridge Fire (merged with Stewarts): Sonoma County, west of Healdsburg, 20,000 acres

    Meyers Fire: Sonoma County, north of Jenner, 3,000 acres

    105 structures destroyed
    70 structures damaged

    ---

    LATEST, Aug. 20, 8:45 p.m. Two more fatalities were reported in the LNU Lightning Complex fires, for a total of four deaths being attributed to the fires.

    Three fatalities were reported in Napa County, with another death reported in Solano County, according to Cal Fire; four people were also reported injured. No further details were made available.

    The fires have grown to a total of 215,000 acres, according to new figures posted by Cal Fire at 7:30 p.m. The Aetna and Round fires in Napa and Lake counties have now merged with the Hennessey Fire, adding up to a total of 192,000 acres burned in that area. In Sonoma County, the Walbridge Fire has since merged with Stewarts, for a total of 20,000 acres burned as of Thursday night. The Meyers Fire, also in Sonoma County, has now burned up to 3,000 acres.

    The LNU Lightning Complex fires all still remain at zero containment. For the most recent updates on mandatory evacuations and evacuation warnings, as of 7:30 p.m., the latest updates can be found here and is continued here, via the Cal Fire LNU Twitter page.

    Aug. 20, 7:25 p.m. Two fatalities were reported in the LNU Lightning Complex fires, including a PG&E worker.

    PG&E confirmed the employee's death to the Sacramento Bee early Thursday, and said in a statement that a "Vacaville-based troubleman passed away while assisting first responders as they dealt with the LNU Complex Fire." The man was not identified by authorities.

    A second fatality was also reported by the Vacaville Reporter on Thursday night. A missing-persons report was filed, and a team sent out to assess fire damage had found his body during a check of the man's home. He is believed to have died from fire-related injuries, according to the Solano Sheriff's office. The man, who was not identified, had reportedly declined to evacuate his property on Pleasants Valley Road in Vacaville.

    Aug 20, 3:15 p.m. Cal Fire issued new evacuation warnings for the Middletown area in Lake County as fires in the LNU Lightning Complex continue to rage in the area.

    Per Cal Fire, "All areas west of Highway 29 (including areas west of Saint Helena creek Road), north and east of the Lake/Napa County Line (extending north to the Anderson Springs Rd. prolongation between the County Line and Highway 175), south of Anderson Springs Rd., Neft Road., and the Boggs Mountain Recreation Area prolongation to the intersection of Hofacker Lane and Highway 29" are now under evacuation warnings.

    Click here for more information on Lake County evacuations.

    Aug 20, 2:15 p.m. Global SuperTanker Services LLC's B747-400 "Global SuperTanker" — the world's largest firefighting plane — has been deployed to the LNU Lightning Complex's Walbridge Fire in Sonoma County.

    Cal Fire stated that the 14,500-acre Walbridge Fire currently bearing towards Guerneville is the Thursday's top priority in the LNU Lightning Complex. The blaze currently is 0% contained.

    State Sen. Mike McGuire tweeted that the Global SuperTanker is "on the job" against the Walbridge Fire Thursday afternoon. The SuperTanker can deliver approximately 20,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in a single drop.

    Aug. 20, 11:45 a.m. The many fires of the LNU Lightning Complex have begun to merge into a massive blaze, Cal Fire officials said Thursday.

    Overnight, several fires combined around the west, north and south ends of Lake Berryessa, encircling the lake on three sides. "This is a very large fire. It's one of many in the state of California and honestly our resources are stretched very far," Cal Fire unit chief Shana Jones said. "So please be patient."

    The fire of highest priority Thursday is the Walbridge Fire near Healdsburg. It has burned 14,500 acres so far and is pushing east and south toward Guerneville. The Walbridge Fire has already caused "significant structure damage and significant structure loss," Cal Fire said.

    Fire crews are also mounting a defense of Pope Valley, which they said has many structures in danger. It's expected that fire will soon merge with the Spanish Flat fire. In addition, the Blue Ridge hill area near Esparto is likely to burn further, merging fires to the north and south.

    Out-of-state firefighters and freed-up crews from other California fires are expected to arrive in the coming days. Fog and clouds are expected to enter the forecast which crews hope will help slow the spread. Unfortunately, this may mean the air response will be limited by poor visibility.

    One bit of good news came in the Vacaville area, which has mostly contained the spread of its fire. More information on that can be found here.

    Aug. 20, 10 a.m. Cal Fire released an updated status report at 8:15 this morning, reporting that the LNU Lightning Complex is now 131,000 acres in size with zero containent. The blaze has destroyed 105 structures, damaged 70 and 30,500 structures are threatened.

    "Extreme fire behavior with short and long range spotting are continuing to challenge firefighting efforts," Cal Fire said. "Fires continue to make runs in multiple directions and impacting multiple communities."

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    https://www.sfgate.com/california-wi...a-15497023.php

    Multiple fires are burning in Contra Costa County, Alameda County, Santa Clara County, Stanislaus County and San Joaquin County. Cal Fire is referring to them collectively as the SCU Lightning Complex. "SCU" stands for Santa Clara Unit. Find official evacuation updates here and a map here.

    ------

    LATEST Aug. 20, 8:25 p.m. The SCU Lightning Complex has grown over 20,000 acres Thursday, according to new figures released by Cal Fire, adding up to a total of 157,475 acres burned since the fires began Sunday.

    Approximately 20,000 structures remain threatened as of 8 p.m. Thursday, but no structures have been reported as destroyed at this time. The fires remain at 5% containment.


    West winds "tested containment lines" in the Deer Zone area of the fires in Contra Costa County, with wind gusts up to 25 mph happening Thursday afternoon, according to the latest report. The fire is expected to continue to grow overnight, with "continued breezy onshore winds" expected.

    Aug. 20, 4:10 p.m. Cal Fire issued a new evacuation warning Thursday afternoon affecting some parts of Santa Clara County. Those impacted by the warning are residents of the following areas:

    — East of Lovers Lane and the Santa Clara County line
    — South of Highway 152 to the San Benito County line
    — West of the Merced County line
    — North of the San Benito County line to Highway 152

    Aug. 20, 3:15 p.m. Cal Fire has issued a new evacuation order for some residents of Santa Clara County. The order affects those:

    — East of Shingle Valley Road and everything east of Anderson Lake, east of Coyote Creek, east of Coyote Reservoir, east of Roop Road, east of Leavesley Road, east of Crews Road and east of Ferguson Road.
    — East and North of Highway 152
    — West of the Merced County Line
    — North of Highway 152
    — South of Metcalf Road at Shingle Valley Road
    — East to the Stanislaus County line

    Additionally, a new evacuation warning was issued for Santa Clara County affecting those:

    — South of Metcalf Road, east of Coyote Creek to the Anderson Lake Shore, east of Cochrane Road, east of Hill Road and south of Main Ave., north of Maple Ave., east of Foothill Ave., north of San Martin Ave., east of New Ave., west of Shingle Valley Road, and everything west of Anderson Lake, west of Coyote Creek, west of Coyote Reservoir, north and west of Roop Road between Coyote Reservoir Road and New Ave.

    Road closures were also announced. Holiday Drive and East Dunne Ave., Coyote Reservoir Road at Roop Road, Canada Road at Highway 152 and Highway 152 at Belle Station are currently closed.

    Cal Fire defined both a new evacuation shelter and designated an animal shelter for those evacuating. The evacuation shelter is located in the Performing Arts building at Ann Sobrato High School, 401 Burnett Ave. in Morgan Hill.

    Those with pets should bring them to the County of Santa Clara Animal Services, reachable at 408-686-3900.

    Aug. 20, 2:05 p.m. Cal Fire has lifted a previously issued evacuation order for all areas of Diablo Grande Parkway and the Diablo Grande Community. The order has been downgraded to a warning.

    Aug. 20, 1:10 p.m. Cal Fire has released an online evacuation map of the SCU Lightning Complex Fire, "designed to assist residences in real time regarding the current evacuations and future repopulation."

    The map lists areas affected by evacuation orders in red; areas under evacuation warnings are in yellow.

  23. #23
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    https://www.sfgate.com/california-wi...e-15497955.php

    Multiple wildfires are burning in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties and several have merged into larger fires. Cal Fire is referring to them collectively as the CZU August Lightning Complex. CZU stands for Cal Fire's San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit. Find fire and evacuation updates here and map here.

    LATEST, Aug. 20, 8:55 p.m. Cal Fire announced a fourth addition to the mandatory evacuation orders.


    The latest area to be ordered to evacuate is Paradise Park (Zones CRZ 63 and CRZ 64). Evacuees can head to one of the three designated centers listed in the 7:30 p.m. update below.

    Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m. Another round of mandatory evacuations were announced for Santa Cruz County on Thursday night.

    The following areas were placed under evacuation orders:

    — All Scotts Valley residents west of State Route 16 (Zones SCO 1-5, SCO7, SCO 14-20, SCO 21-25)
    — Santa Cruz County area east of Zayante Canyon, west of State Route 17 and south of State Route 35 (Zones CRZ 18, CRZ 19, CRZ 20)
    — UC Santa Cruz; campus only (Zone SCZ 4)


    Evacuees can head toward any of the three designated evacuation centers at the Santa Cruz County Fairground (2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville); Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium (307 Church St., Santa Cruz; check ahead, as this facility could be at capacity); Santa Cruz Seventh Day Adventist Camp Ground (1931 Soquel San Jose Road, Soquel).

    Aug. 20, 6:50 p.m. The CZU August Lightning Complex fires continue to increase in size, with officials stating late Thursday afternoon that the acreage has increased by 8,000 acres during the day to a total of 48,000 acres burned. As of 6 p.m., the fire is also still at zero percent containment.

    Officials with Cal Fire said that 50 structures have been destroyed, but were quick to underline the fact that those were merely the confirmed structures; they fully expect that number to go into "triple digits." Roughly 20,952 structures are currently being threatened by fire.

    The weather was favorable for fighting the fire during the daytime Thursday, but Cal Fire said it is preparing for increased fire activity, much like what was seen Wednesday night, when the fire went from 25,000 acres to 40,000 burned overnight. The rate of spread was said to be approximately 700 to 1,000 acres an hour, Cal Fire Assistant Chief Billy See said at the press conference.

    The number of personnel working the fire has been increased to 997 Thursday, however officials warned they are still "drastically short" of the staffing needed for a fire of this size.

    A total of 48,000 people have been evacuated from the area as of Thursday.

    Aug. 20, 6:10 p.m. New evacuation orders were issued for San Mateo County late Thursday afternoon.

    The following areas were upgraded from a warning to a full evacuation order for the following areas:

    -Pescadero Beach Area (Zone SMC E073)
    -Pescadero Creek County Park Area (Zone SMC E075)
    -Bean Hollow Area (Zone SMC E042)
    -Pescadero Area (Zone SMC E043)
    -San Gregorio Area (Zone SMC E022)
    -La Honda Area (Zone SMC E028)
    -Red Barn Area (Zone E010)
    -Russian Ridge Open Space Area (Zone SMC E027)
    -Skylonda Area (Zone SMC E012)
    -Langley Hill Area (Zone SMC E010)

    Evacuees were directed to go to Half Moon Bay High School at 1 Lewis Foster Dr. in Half Moon Bay.

    Cal Fire also released video of the fire from its air operations team where smoke could be seen filling the air and flames scorching parts of the land below.


    Aug. 20, 4 p.m. "Residents displaced by the CZU August Lightning Complex fires are in urgent need of donations," Santa Cruz County announced on Twitter. "We ask that all donations be in new condition. Please bring all donations to the Santa Cruz County Warehouse at 1082 Emeline, Santa Cruz."

    Find a list of items here.

    Aug. 20, 3 p.m. Cal Fire issued new evacuation warnings at 1 p.m. for UC Santa Cruz, Paradise Park and parts of Scotts Valley west of Highway 17. "A warning requests residents be on alert for possible evacuations, but does not require further action at this time," Cal Fire says.

    Find the order here.

    Aug. 20, 1:40 p.m. Cal Fire issued a new mandatory evacuation order at 1 p.m. for the area of Zayante Canyon that includes all ZAY Zones (ZAY 1 - ZAY 17). See the evacuation map here and find the full order here.

    Aug. 20, 12:40 p.m. UC Santa Cruz shared in a statement that there's no fire activity on campus at this time, but suggested people on campus relocate in case of an evacuation.

    "If you live on campus and you have a safe place to relocate to out of the area, we continue to strongly encourage you to proactively relocate," the statement read. "This reduces the number of people on campus we need to evacuate and also reduces additional strain on traffic and the roadways leading into and out of the Santa Cruz area. Some roadways, including Empire Grade and Highway 1 headed north of Western Drive, are closed to prevent individuals traveling into areas within the evacuation zone."

    Read the full statement.

    Aug. 20, 12:15 p.m. Cal Fire shared dramatic images of fire activity in Pescadero on Twitter this afternoon.


    Aug. 20, 12:10 p.m. Cal Fire announced they will provide an update on the CZU August Lightning Complex at 6 p.m. Thursday. You can find a live feed on Twitter.

    Aug. 20, 10:45 a.m. Cal Fire has posted a morning briefing update on Twitter. Public information officer Dan Olson said the fire made "significant runs" overnight in the Davenport, Ben Lomond and Empire Ridge areas. (Watch the video here.)


    Aug. 20, 9:15 a.m. Cal Fire released a new mandatory evacuation for the Felton area in Santa Cruz County at 8 a.m. this morning. Residents of Felton and the surrounding area must evacuate immediately.

    Find the complete order here.

    Aug. 20, 6:35 a.m. A series of fires burning in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties called the CZU August Lightning Complex exploded into a monstrous inferno overnight, making significant runs in the areas of Davenport, Ben Lomond and Empire Ridge.

    The fire was 25,000 acres when everyone went to bed, but on Thursday Cal Fire officials said at a 6 a.m. press briefing it had grown to 40,000 acres with zero containment. Twenty structures have been destroyed and 8,600 are threatened, according to a status report released at 7 a.m.

    Cal Fire Operations Section Chief Mark Brunton said there was significant fire activity west of Davenport in Santa Cruz County overnight. "We had to do an evacuation of almost last minute due to the rapid approach of the fire," he said. "That is still ongoing as we speak now."

    The fire also made an "extremely active run" from the west side of Empire Ridge Road, spotting over the highway and moving down into the communities of Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond. "Fires continue to threaten those communities with fire moving down into the San Lorenzo Valley," Brunton said.

    .
    The blaze is racing through a highly flammable landscape that is parched after a year marked by low rainfall. It hasn't seen a fire in years. "It's so dry it's something we have not seen historically," said Brunton. "We're seeing fire we've never seen in the coastal area before, in terms of amount and severity."

    In San Mateo County, fire is threatening the communities of Pescadero and La Honda.

    Brunton said when he was talking to firefighters on the scene, they all shook their heads and said, "We've never seen anything like this."

    Cal Fire is fighting the CZU Complex with about 10% of the resources it would usually have for a fire of this size and severity. Brunton said due to the high number of fires spread across the state, they "are woefully short of resources." Nearly 600 firefighters are assigned to the incident.

    An arm of the blaze raced through Big Basin Redwoods State Park on Tuesday, and officials said Wednesday night that multiple structures were destroyed, including the park’s headquarters, historic core and campgrounds. (Read more about damage to Big Basin on SFGATE.)

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