California Statewide Fire Summary for August 26, 2021 

August 26, 2021 - Today more than 14,300 firefighters are on the frontlines of 14 major fires and three extended attack fires in California. Firefighters continue to aggressively work to strengthen containment lines on all major fires, in addition to battling 34 new initial wildfires yesterday. Due to drought conditions, two of those wildfires have grown to large fires in both Calaveras and San Bernardino counties, as well as two new extended attack fires.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been 6,773 new wildfires. During this time-period, these wildfires have burned more than 1.6 million acres. In comparison, in 2020 during the same time-period, there were 7,389 wildfires and approximately 1.6 acres burned.

The weather forecast for this weekend continues to be warm and dry across the state. A Fire Weather Watch is in effect from Friday morning through Saturday morning for portions of the Sacramento Valley and surrounding foothills from Shasta County down to Colusa County. Gusty north to northeast winds of 10 – 20 mph with gusts of 25 – 30 mph will develop Friday morning across northern and central portions of the Sacramento Valley and surrounding foothills and may continue into Saturday morning. Strongest winds are expected midday Friday. These winds, combined with low humidity and extremely dry fuels, may lead to critical fire weather conditions. In the southern region, starting Sunday into early next week, there will be a heightened risk for new lightning starts, especially with thunderstorms that may form over areas that continue to support critically dry fuels. An excessive heat warning remains in effect until Sunday evening for the southeast part of the state. With extreme fire danger expected to continue, it is critical that all Californians take steps to prevent sparking a wildfire. 

CAL FIRE continues to urge all Californians to take steps to prevent sparking a wildfire. To learn more ways to prevent sparking a wildfire, visit www.readyforwildfire.org.

Fires of Interest:

Fires of Interest:
**CAL FIRE Incidents**
Airola Fire, Calaveras County (more info…) NEW
West of Columbia
*700 acres, 10% contained
*Structures threatened
*Evacuation orders in progress

Dixie Fire, Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Tehama & Shasta Counties (more info…)
*747,091 acres, 45% contained
*Nearly 12,000 structures threatened
*2nd Largest and 14th Most Destructive Wildfire in state history
*1,273 structures destroyed
*Evacuation orders and warnings in place for multiple communities
*Unified Command CAL FIRE, USFS, BLM, and National Park Service
*CAL FIRE IMT 3 and CA Interagency IMT 1 are in command

Caldor Fire, El Dorado County (more info…)
South of Grizzly Flats – El Dorado National Forest
*136,643 acres, 12% contained
*Evacuation orders and warnings remain in place
*More than 17,000 structures threatened, 643 structures destroyed
*Damage assessment is ongoing
*Highway 50 closed in both directions from Pollock Pines to Meyers
*Unified Command CAL FIRE and USFS
*CAL FIRE IMT 6 and NIMO Team 2 in command

French Fire, Kern County (more info…)
West of Lake Isabella – Sequoia National Forest
*22,030 acres, 19% contained
*Structures threatened
*Evacuation orders and warnings remain in place
*Unified Command CA Interagency IMT 12 and Kern County Fire

McFarland Fire, Shasta, Trinity & Tehama Counties (more info…)
West of Platina – Shasta-Trinity National Forest
*154,344 acres, 84% contained
*Evacuation orders and warnings remain in place
*Unified Command CAL FIRE and USFS
*CA Interagency IMT 10, in command with CAL FIRE

Monument Fire, Trinity County (more info…)
West of Big Bar – Shasta-Trinity National Forest
*157,287 acres, 20% contained
*Evacuation orders and warnings remain in place
*Unified Command CAL FIRE and USFS
*CAL FIRE IMT 5 and Alaska IMT in command

South Fire, San Bernardino County (more info…) NEW
North of Fontana – San Bernardino National Forest
*500 acres, 0% contained
*Structures and powerlines threatened
*Evacuation orders in place
*Unified Command CAL FIRE, USFS and San Bernardino County Fire

**Federal Incidents**
Antelope Fire, Siskiyou County (more info…)
South of Tennant – Klamath National Forest
*70,897 acres, 41% contained

River Complex, Siskiyou & Trinity Counties (more info…)
West of Callahan – Klamath National Forest
*90,929 acres, 19% contained
*Complex is comprised of 23 fires; 16 fires contained
*NIMO Team 3 and CA Interagency IMT 15 in command

McCash Fire, Siskiyou County (more info…)
Ten Bear Mtn McCash Creek - Six Rivers National Forest
*23,360 acres, 0% contained
*Great Basin IMT 3 in command

Walkers Fire, Tulare County (more info…)
Northeast of Springville – Sequoia National Forest
*4,448, 40% contained

Lava Fire, Siskiyou County (more info…)
Northeast of the community of Weed - Shasta-Trinity National Forest
*26,409 acres, 85% contained

Beckwourth Complex, Lassen/Plumas Counties (more info…)
Northeast of Beckwourth – Plumas National Forest*105,670 acres, 98% contained

Tamarack Fire, Alpine County (more info…)
South of Gardnerville – Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
*68,637 acres, 82% contained

**Extended Attack Incidents**
Westward Fire, Riverside County (more info…) NEW
W. Westward Ave area, Banning – CAL FIRE
*160 acres, 60% contained
*Structures threatened, evacuation in progress
*Forward spread has been stopped

Rock Fire, Riverside County (more info…)
Rock Canyon Rd area, Anza – CAL FIRE
*295 acres, 70% contained
*All evacuations have been lifted

Bennett Fire, Nevada County (more info…) NEW
East Bennett Road, Grass Valley
*59 acres, 70% contained
*Unified Command CAL FIRE, Nevada County Consolidated Fire District and Grass Valley Fire Department

Source: CAL FIRE