Category Archives: Forest Fires

LOS ANGELES – A rapidly growing wildfire raged across an upscale section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, destroying numerous buildings and creating traffic jams as more than 30,000 people evacuated, while a second blaze doubled in size some 30 miles inland. At least 2,921 acres (1,182 hectares) of the Pacific Palisades area between the coastal towns of Santa Monica and Malibu had burned by the Palisades Fire, officials said, after they had already warned of extreme fire danger from powerful winds that arrived following extended dry weather. …The second blaze dubbed the Eaton Fire broke out some 30 miles (50 km) inland near Pasadena and doubled in size to 400 acres (162 hectares) in a few hours, according to Cal Fire. …Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley had earlier told a press conference that more than 25,000 people in 10,000 homes were threatened.

In reports released Monday, Jan. 6, the State Fire Marshal’s Office detailed how an Oct. 6 fire that destroyed 30,549 acres, killed two people and traveled between Ray and Tioga started. It was one of two fires that burned nearly 90,000 acres and nearly engulfed the two small cities in northwest North Dakota… The tree hit the power line and broke it in half. The downed lines then ignited dry grass. Photos included in the Fire Marshal’s report showed the broken power lines and impact points on the tree, which reportedly was taller than the power lines… Officials are still determining what started a second fire that started the same day near U.S. Highway 85 about 30 miles north of Williston.

ARIZONA — The Horton Fire northeast of Payson burned more than 600 acres of forest by Saturday and was 0% contained, according to the authorities with the Tonto National Forest. Nearly 150 firefighters and personnel battled the wildfire that threatened nearby communities of Tonto Creek Estates, Tonto Christian Camp, Tonto Fish Hatcher and Zane Grey Cabins, which were on a pre-evacuation “set” status and must be prepared to leave at the notice of authorities. The fire started Dec.14 and caused an emergency closure of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests and Tonto National Forest earlier this week. The forest closures would remain in place through Jan. 31, 2025, according to authorities.

MALIBU, California — The Malibu wildfire continues to threaten over 1,000 structures as firefighters work to gain control of it, officials said. The wildfire, known as the Franklin Fire, has destroyed 19 structures and damaged 27. It threatens 1,025 structures Sunday as 4,037 acres are set ablaze in Malibu, California, located around 29 miles west of Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire.) The fire had threatened over 4,300 structures Saturday. Firefighters have progressed in containing the fire, as cooler temperatures and higher humidity levels have assisted them in their efforts. As of Sunday morning, firefighters have contained 42% of the wildfire, according to Cal Fire. Evacuation orders have been lifted in some areas, and people were able to return to their homes.

Much of October was a smoky existence along the Wasatch Back while the largest wildfire of the year in Utah burned 33,000 acres of national forest laced with beetle-killed timber east of Frances almost to Hanna. Before unseasonably warm and dry weather gave way to snow, the Yellow Lake Fire burned for a month and a half, from Sept. 28 to Nov. 12. But inside the fire perimeter, nearly 7,300 acres did not burn at all, and no structures burned, either. “That was because of where it was, and the weather patterns during the fire,” said Ken Verboncoeur, the Heber-Kamas district ranger for the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. …So far, the Forest Service has not noticed any significant loss of wildlife in the fire zone. Because the area has numerous patches of meadows and open areas, and the fire was largely a patchy or mosaic pattern, the belief is that animals used these open areas as safe zones.

The Shoe Fire that burned more than 5,000 acres north of Lake Shasta was caused by a landowner who lost control of an unpermitted burn that he was doing on his own property, the U.S. Forest Service said. The fire started on Oct. 9 before it was finally contained on Nov. 9. An investigation determined the fire started within a meadow on private land before it spread to adjacent properties and National Forest lands, the Forest Service posted on its Facebook page. Forest Service spokesman Tom Stokesberry said the man has been cited for violations of federal law. He did not know the specific charges. The Forest Service also did not release the name of the landowner. …Cost to suppress the fire reached is an estimated $42.5 million, according to the National Interagency Fire Center’s situation report.

Firefighters announced Saturday the Shoe Fire, burning north of Lake Shasta and Redding, is 100% contained. Firefighters will continue monitoring containment lines and snuffing hot spots where the wildfire could flare up, according to the Shoe Fire inter-agency task force.  The blaze remained its current size, 5,124 acres, since the last week of October, while sporadic rainstorms soaked much of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest where it burned. Chilly temperatures that dipped into the low 40s also helped calm the flames. That cool wet weather bought firefighters time to build containment lines around the blaze, and patrol and bolster current ones, Shoe Fire incident team spokesperson Lisa McNee said last week.

CAMARILLO, Calif. — Southern California firefighters working to contain a wildfire that has destroyed 132 structures in two days could be assisted by a forecast of fierce wind gusts easing early Friday, officials said. The Mountain Fire started Wednesday morning in Ventura County and had grown to 32 square miles (about 83 square kilometers) with 5% contained Thursday night. Some 10,000 people remained under evacuation orders Friday morning as the fire continued to threaten about 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo in Ventura County. At least 88 additional structures were damaged in addition to the 132 destroyed, which were mostly homes. Officials did not specify whether they had been burned or affected by water or smoke damage. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Fire officials and foresters say that in many respects it was an unprecedented wildfire season in the Equality State, especially for private land and eastern forests. At its peak, the mighty Elk Fire made a furious wind-driven, overnight run. Sheridan and Johnson County firefighters had never seen anything like it before on their home turf. Neither had their parents or grandparents. On Oct. 4, the blaze consumed more of the Bighorns’ rugged east slope than any previously documented fire had burned that forest in total. “In a matter of three hours it ran 25,000 acres,” Bighorn National Forest Supervisor Andrew Johnson said. “In the last 100 years, the largest fire on the forest had been about 18,000 acres — and it took over a month to get that size.” By the time a potentially season-ending snowstorm hit in late October, the blaze had surpassed 98,000 acres. The Elk Fire … was 5 times larger than anything in the record books.

Dr. Susan J. Prichard specializes in a (literally) hot topic: wildfire ecology. She researches the effects of wildfires in Washington and works with other fire experts—like local indigenous communities—to mitigate them. …She tells UW Magazine her story. I grew up on Whidbey Island. I spent many hours of my childhood in the Olympics and Cascades seeing the forests and the clearcuts. …It was so exciting to get into the UW to study forest ecology. For my Master’s degree, I looked at carbon storage in sub-alpine forests and meadows on the Olympic Peninsula. I began to think about how we could celebrate better forestry and came back to the UW to get my Ph.D. studying climate change and forest dynamics. …Today, my work involves studying the outcomes of forest management decisions—like if prescribed burning has been effective (it has!).

A huge fire continues to blaze across the Salmon-Challis National Forest, expanding to over 68,000 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire, named the Red Rock Fire, is currently 19 percent contained, with 513 personnel actively battling the flames. Nearby, the Garden Fire is also growing, now approaching 10,000 acres with no containment yet. In total, 15 wildfires are burning across 469,308 acres in Idaho, as reported by the National Interagency Fire Center. The Red Rock Fire, located approximately 15 miles west of Salmon, is the largest mostly uncontained fire in the state. According to a U.S. Forest Service update issued on Monday, the fire resulted from two smaller fires merging. “Red flag conditions yesterday continued to challenge firefighters,” the U.S. Forest Service — Salmon-Challis National Forest said in an update on Facebook. “While there continued to be little fire growth on the west side in the Wilderness, other areas of the fire remained active.”

At least three government agencies will investigate the causes of wildfires that have burned more than 110,000 acres in North Dakota in the last week. State-led investigations into four wildfires in northwest North Dakota are in the early stages, but preliminary findings indicate there’s no evidence the fires were intentionally set, State Fire Marshal Doug Nelson said Thursday. State investigators were asked to look into the fire near Tioga that involved two fatalities, a fire near Ray, a fire near Keene and a fire near New Town, Nelson said. The state fire marshal will investigate if a local fire department requests an investigation. But if the fire occurs on federal land, then a federal agency is likely involved, said Jacob Just, with the North Dakota Insurance Department. …Thursday was a warm, windy day in northwest North Dakota. Winds were expected to gust up to 21 mph at Watford City with a high temperature of 72 degrees. 

The Shoe Fire broke out sometime between 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday and was burning rapidly in steep, thick forest, according to images from Alert California, which records images and videos of wildfires across California. Kimblery Hill, a Shasta-Trinity National Forest spokeswoman, said the agency had a heavy response to the fire, including four helicopters, eight engine crews, a bulldozer, one hand crew with three more on order. She said the fire was near the Madrone Campground off Fenders Ferry Road, which runs around the back side of Lake Shasta. It continued to spread Wednesday night. By late afternoon it had reached 300 acres, with no containment. Shasta County sheriff’s officials have ordered evacuations in the area of the fire, which is burning off Fender’s Ferry road northeast of the lake. …Fender’s Ferry Road was closed from Highway 299 to the McCloud River bridge at Gilman Road.

CASPER, Wyo. — The Elk Fire burning in the Bighorn National Forest near Dayton has now reached 72,998 acres, according to an update from the U.S. Forest Service on Monday morning. The fire is now 10% contained along the northeast edge, north of Dayton. Crews are working on the southern end to get ahead of fire movement to protect potentially threatened communities and municipal watersheds in the Big Goose drainage area. …Structure protection work continues today northwest of the fire in Little Horn Canyon, and along subdivisions near US Highway 14 between Dayton and Burgess Junction. …Crews are also working on strategies to protect homes and communities, the Sheridan watershed and key infrastructure south of the fire, they said. Some 700 cattle were transported off the fire area early Monday due to collaborative efforts by the community and emergency agencies. …Multiple structures and outbuildings have been lost, including two primary residences.

HIGHLAND, Utah — Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in connection to the Yellow Lake Fire burning in eastern Wasatch County, which tripled in size after what officials called a “challenging day” on Friday. As of Saturday morning, the fire had grown to 7,798 acres. By Sunday, the estimate jumped up to over 15,000 and is only 7 percent contained. The fire has been determined as human-caused, although the exact cause remains under investigation. People must evacuate from the western and northern forks of the Duchesne River. Meanwhile, campers in the Grandaddy Lakes area of Ashley National Forest are in ready status and should prepare to evacuate. Red Flag conditions allowed the fire to explode in size thanks to high winds, low humidity and record-breaking temperatures for the month of October. Similar weather conditions were forecast for Saturday, which will force firefighters to take a conservative approach to putting out the wildfire.

Doug Burgum

BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota state agencies are coordinating with local, federal and tribal firefighters and emergency responders to battle several large wildfires that spread quickly today across western North Dakota, driven by strong winds, dry ground conditions and low humidity. “Strong winds and dry conditions are creating extremely challenging firefighting conditions, and the state continues to mobilize all available resources to assist local, tribal and federal agencies in protecting lives and property,” Gov. Doug Burgum said. Several large wildfires were being fought in western North Dakota on Saturday including near Grassy Butte, near Johnson’s corner along Highway 73 and near Mandaree. Those followed fires Friday night and earlier today that burned thousands of acres including near Arnegard, Keene and Charlson. Evacuation orders were issued in multiple areas and temporary shelters were opened for those displaced.