CALIFORNIA – Over 8,000 firefighters from throughout the state continue to battle three large wildfires in California. There are currently 1,035 fire engines, 141 dozers, 166 hand crews, 80 water tenders, 42 helicopters and numerous firefighting air tankers assigned to the incidents, and out-of-state resources continue to arrive.
The Camp Fire in northern California has claimed the lives of 23 people, and 100 more are reportedly unaccounted for. Nearly 7,000 structures have been lost. It is now the most destructive wildfire in California history, surpassing the Tubbs Fire which burned nearly 37,000 acres and killed 22 people in October of last year.
Over 224,000 individuals have been impacted by the fires, says Cal Fire, with tens of thousands having been evacuated from their homes.
These wind-driven fires have burned more than 196,806 acres and destroyed thousands of structures, and the winds are forecasted to continue.
Strong north to northeast winds will continue through Sunday resulting in critical fire weather conditions across most of interior northern California.
Although winds will decrease Sunday night into Monday, humidities will remain low and will be slow to recover. Warm and dry conditions are expected through much of next week with relatively light winds.
A strong Santa Ana will develop across Southern California Sunday through Tuesday as a strong surface high builds into the Great Basin. The combination of strong wind gusts and extremely low relative humidity will create a dangerous fire weather environment.
Santa Anas will blow into Thursday, but lessening in strength Wednesday through Thursday before onshore flow returns to Southern California late in the week to provide for humidity recovery.
With these current extreme fire conditions throughout the state, Cal Fire warns, “Don’t wait to evacuate! You should already be PREPARED and GO! early. If you see fire approaching, don’t wait to be told to leave.” To learn more on preparing to evacuate, click here.
Fires of Interest (click links for detailed information on evacuations and closures):
Camp Fire, Butte County (more info…)
Paradise
• 109,000 acres, 25% contained
• Evacuations and road closures remain in effect
• Estimated 6713 structures destroyed. Most destructive fire in California recorded history
• Cal Fire Incident Management Team 4 (Derum) assigned
Hill Fire, Ventura County (more info…)
Santa Rosa Valley
• 4,531 acres, 70% contained
• Repopulation of various affected areas took place Saturday at 4:30 pm. Some evacuations and road closures remain in effect
• Cal Fire Incident Management Team 5 (Parkes) assigned. IMT#5 managing both Hill and Woolsey fires
Woolsey Fire, Ventura County (more info…)
South of Simi Valley
• 83,275 acres, 10% contained
• Evacuations and road closures remain in effect
• Cal Fire Incident Management Team 5 (Parkes) assigned. IMT#5 managing both Hill and Woolsey fires
