From the CAL FIRE Information Center, I’m Scott McLean with the CAL FIRE Report for Monday, September 16, 2019.
Firefighters faced another challenging week last week, including another round of Critical Fire Weather across much of the eastern side of the state starting yesterday due to extremely windy conditions in combination with low humidity. In total, firefighters battled 180 new wildfires within CAL FIRE’s jurisdiction last week. You can see on the stats behind me that so far this year, we’ve now seen a total of 4,173 total fires that have burned 38,610 acres.Switching over to our statewide fire map, you can see that firefighters are currently battling 11 significant wildfires across the state, but all but 2 of those are fires that are not within CAL FIRE jurisdiction that we are assisting other agencies with.
Let’s take a closer look at the 2 fires within CAL FIRE’s jurisdiction, starting in Riverside County with the Horseshoe Fire. The Horseshoe Fire started on Saturday in the Community of Juniper Flats. The fire quickly grew to nearly 500 acres, prompting evacuation orders for approximately 200 residents. Firefighters were able to get a handle on the Horseshoe Fire by Sunday afternoon, and all evacuations have been lifted. As of this morning, the Horseshoe Fire is 490 acres & 40% contained.
And the other large active fire is the Taboose Fire down in Inyo County. CAL FIRE is in Unified Command with the Inyo National Forest on the Taboose Fire, which started a couple of weeks ago on September 6. Firefighters continue making good progress against it, however weather has made the fire fight difficult, including those Red Flag Conditions yesterday that I mentioned earlier. The Taboose Fire is 5,757 acres & 61% contained.
And there’s one other significant wildfire I wanted to mention, and that’s the Red Bank Fire in Tehama County that began on September 5 west of Red Bluff. The Red Bank Fire was fully contained on Friday at 8,838 acres. A really interesting fact about the Red Bank Fire is that due to its remote location and difficult to access terrain, aircraft had to be used extensively including transporting personnel to the fireline. Over the course of the fire, over 950 passengers were airlifted in, plus the addition of over 23,000 pounds of equipment. Almost 1.5 million gallons of water was dropped, and over 450,000 gallons of retardant. There’s a lot of work that goes on behind-the-scenes on a fire like the Red Bank Fire. You can see on some of this footage the Base Camp that was set up to support the incident. These base camps are like small cities that are put together practically overnight to support everything from radio communications, to fire equipment like hoses and other tools, incident management staff, and even the staff responsible for keeping the public informed. Base camps also give our firefighters and other fireline personnel a place to stage equipment and get much needed rest and food between shifts. On this fire in particular, over 16,000 meals were served at the base camp out of what’s known as a mobile kitchen unit, and over 60 pallets of water were used. On the supply side of things, over 260,000 feet (49 miles) of hose were used on the fire. All of this supported by the dedicated staff at the base camp. So a very special thank you to all of the hard working individuals who work behind the scenes helping to support these incidents and the firefighters who battle these blazes.
Moving on to the weather forecast for this week, for the next several days, we’re expecting to finally see some relief from the heat we’ve seen all summer long, including even a little rain in a few areas of northern California. But unfortunately the cooler weather isn’t expected to last. By mid-week, most areas will being warming back up and will see a drop in humidity once again. We also are forecast to see some dry winds in the Sacramento Valley and portions of the Bay Area later in the week. So while it may seem to be cooling down out there at the moment, we’re not out of the woods yet and now is not the time to become complacent.
We’ve seen in just the last few weeks a substantial increase in the number of fires leading to evacuations. As we transition into the Fall months, we’re entering a time when historically we’ve seen the largest and most destructive fire behavior, and that means we’ll likely only see more evacuation orders before the end of the year. It’s important that when evacuations are ordered in your community that you heed them and get out quickly. But it’s also important to know what to do when the orders are lifted and you are able to return home.
Be aware and use extreme caution when returning home, especially around trees, power poles and other tall objects or structures that may have lost stability during the fire. And be very careful not to touch or step on any power lines.
When you get home, you will need to inspect for damage. Before doing that, check for the smell of gas, and turn off the power until you’ve completed your inspection. Use a flashlight to inspect your home, but be sure to turn it on outside before you go in. The flashlight battery can produce a spark that could ignite any leaking gas.
While you inspect, keep a “fire watch”. Look for smoke or sparks throughout the house and on the rooftops and gutters. Look for ash pits or hidden embers, and stay away from them. They can easily burn you.
Finally, be aware that after a wildfire, your area will be much more at risk of flash floods until the landscape is able to regrow. When you have upcoming rain, stay informed about flash flood warnings and stay away from burned forests, storm channels, and natural drainages like rivers, creeks or engineered canals.
For more tips on what to do during and after an evacuation, be sure to visit our website at ReadyForWildfire.org
And that’s the latest on the Fire Situation in California. I’m Scott McLean, Stay safe.
Source: CAL FIRE
