Category Archives: Forest Fires

Air quality has degraded across Central and Eastern Oregon due to smoke from California wildfires combined with Oregon blazes burning east of the Cascade Range. Air quality in Klamath Falls hit “unhealthy” levels while Bend air quality remained at “moderate” levels Monday morning, but is expected to get worse by this afternoon.  “Wildfires burning in the region combined with forecasted conditions will cause air quality to reach unhealthy levels,” the National Weather Service officials in Pendleton said.  Conditions may get worse before they get better. While fire teams did make progress on a number of fires over the weekend, NWS also issued a red flag warning across Central and Eastern Oregon due to “abundant lightning and gusty winds” possible.

Firefighters in California were racing to slow the spread of wildfires that burned nearly one million acres in a week and destroyed hundreds of homes as weekend weather threatened to spark new fires and overwhelm the state’s firefighting ability.  Responding to the emergency, President Donald Trump issued on Saturday a major disaster declaration to provide federal assistance. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the declaration will also help people in counties affected by the fires with crisis counselling, housing and other social services.  Two clusters of wildfires in the San Francisco Bay Area broke old records to become the second- and third-largest wildfires in recent state history by size.  Light winds, cooler and more humid nighttime weather helped fire crews make a bit of progress, but their efforts could be hurt by warm, dry weather, erratic wind gusts and lightning in the forecast, state fire officials said.

SANTA FE, New Mexico — The Medio Fire burning in the forest north of Santa Fe is unlikely to threaten the Santa Fe Ski Basin, though the popular recreation area has been shut down to the public as the fire continues to grow, US Forest Service representatives said Sunday night. The fire that has torched a reported 2,300 acres so far is still only 5% contained, and a thick smokey haze hung over the Tesuque valley and Nambe Pueblo Sunday blocking the mountains from view. The Forest Service did not report how many additional acres burned on Sunday. “We do know that there is some growth on the fire tonight however we did not have an infared flight to check on the growth last night.”

Many of Big Basin Redwoods State Park’s coast redwood trees, which have come to symbolize California’s grandeur and ecological diversity, are 1,000 to 1,800 years old, hundreds of feet tall and, in some instances, over 50 feet in circumference. Most were on fire earlier this week, as the CZU August Lightning Complex Fires tore through the park, causing several of the ancient trees to fall. On Wednesday, the California Department of Parks and Recreation said in a statement that Big Basin Redwoods State Park—California’s oldest state park—had been “extensively damaged” by the CZU August Lightning Complex Fire in Santa Cruz County. As of Saturday morning, the fire has burned 63,000 acres,caused the evacuation of at least 77,000 people and is 5% contained, according to state officials. Park officials said the park’s headquarters, “historic core” and campgrounds had all been damaged by the fires, and all campers, day visitors and park staff have been evacuated.

Wildfires continue to burn across the state Thursday, the day after Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency amid an imminent threat of wildland blazes. The largest of the fires covers over 20,000 acres in eastern Oregon, burning in priority sage-grouse habitat. The most prominent, a nearly 1,000-acre acre blaze near the Columbia River Gorge community of Mosier, has mostly been contained. Several other blazes have prompted evacuations, closures and firefighter responses. The governor’s declaration Wednesday enables several state agencies to collaborate and share resources to fight fires throughout the state. The Oregon National Guard will also respond as needed. …Oregon’s largest blaze, the human-caused Indian Creek fire, covers an estimated 20,300 acres along U.S. 20 at Jonesboro. 

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Wildfires that blackened skies, took at least five lives and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes were blazing through California on Thursday, straining firefighting resources by the sheer vastness of the battle lines. Three major collections of fires — dozens in all — carved their way through forest, canyon country and rural areas in the San Francisco Bay Area and central California. Tens of thousands of homes were threatened by flames driving through dense and bone-dry trees and brush. Many were sparked by lightning strikes from brief thunderstorms this week as a high-pressure area over the West brought a dangerous mix of triple-digit weather and monsoonal moisture pulled from the south. Some fires doubled in size in 24 hours, fire officials said. …Nearly 50,000 people were ordered evacuated in those counties. More than 10,000 firefighters were on the front lines. 

BIG BASIN, California — In a devastating loss for one of California’s most venerable parks, the historic headquarters, nature center, campgrounds and other structures at Big Basin Redwoods State Park were destroyed in the raging wildfires currently burning through the Santa Cruz Mountains. The status of the ancient redwoods in the park was unclear Thursday afternoon, but the damage was widespread. Redwood tree bark is heavily fire-resistant, but in intense fire storms the trees can be damaged, and some of the large trees near park headquarters had fallen, while others were still sanding but were scorched by the flames. The blaze will indefinitely close Big Basin, California’s oldest state park, which receives more than 1 million visitors a year from around the world. Established in 1902, the park gave rise to the movement to preserve coast redwoods from logging a century ago.

Californians already struggling with rolling blackouts and sweltering heat are confronting the next crises tied to extreme weather: wildfires and thick haze choking the air. More than 360 blazes are burning across the state, spurring evacuations in Santa Cruz County and near wine country in the northern part of the state. Smoke blanketed San Francisco Wednesday, parked cars were dusted with ash and air-quality warnings were in effect throughout the Bay Area. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency as record-breaking temperatures continue to bake the region and resources are stretched. …For California, the severe conditions are coming relatively early in its hot, dry wildfire season, portending difficult months ahead as the prospect of bigger blazes loom.

As of Tuesday evening, the Crane Fire outside Lakeview remained at approximately 1,900 acres in size with no containment.  Monday’s storms provided varying amounts of precipitation over the fire with some areas of heavy rain, but most received little to no rain, according to fire managers.  Once again, smoke from the Crane Fire is expected to be highly visible from Lakeview, New Pine Creek and the surrounding area this afternoon and evening as conditions dry out. There may be smoke impacts to local communities depending on wind direction later in the day. Those with smoke sensitivity should take precautions.  The communities of Lakeview and New Pine Creek are not currently threatened by the fire, but trigger points for evacuation orders are being discussed.

Fire teams attacked a handful of growing wildfires ignited by a weekend thunderstorm in the Cascade Range and across Eastern Oregon on Tuesday.   The Green Ridge Fire, burning near Camp Sherman and Santiam Pass, is causing the greatest concern, as the blaze grew to 500 acres on high winds during the afternoon. The fire appears to be moving away from populated areas and no evacuations have been announced yet.   Meanwhile, the Lily Fire, near Waldo Lake, grew to at least 30 acres.   Both wildfires will bring significant closures of nearby trails and campgrounds Tuesday evening, officials said.   The Beachie Creek Fire in the Opal Creek Wilderness remained at 10 acres, but is located in a remote location and brought a large closure of trails, campgrounds and recreation areas.  

A wildfire burning in the scenic Columbia River Gorge that has destroyed dozens of structures is 65% contained, according to authorities. …some evacuation orders were downgraded as of Monday because of the containment progress. The fire has burned nearly 1,000 acres (404 hectares) and fire officials don’t believe they’ll have the blaze fully contained until the end of the month. The Oregon Department of Forestry says 36 structures have been destroyed and about 660 remain threatened. Gov. Kate Brown on Monday visited the site of the Mosier Creek Fire, was briefed on its status, visited a fire line and met with a family whose home was destroyed.

The Mosier Creek Fire was 30% contained by Saturday morning, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. The fire was burning almost 1,000 acres.  The fire, located in Wasco County, is in the Mosier Creek area of the Columbia River Gorge, between Hood River and The Dalles.  “Over the past 24 hours there has been minimal fire growth,” ODF said in its Saturday morning report.  The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center confirmed Thursday that the fire was human-caused. By Thursday afternoon, more than 900 people had evacuated the area since the fire started Wednesday afternoon.  According to the latest information from the Department of Forestry, 31 structures in the area had been destroyed as of Saturday morning, and no people had been injured.

Two back-to-back blazes broke out around Los Angeles this week, marking a dramatic start to the wildfire season.  A wildfire that started Thursday continues to burn near the San Gabriel Canyon east of Los Angeles. Activity at what’s called the Ranch2 Fire is expected to increase today due to extreme heat — with highs near 108.  As of noon ET on Friday, some 100 personnel were battling the blaze, which has scorched at least 2,500 acres, closed roads in the area and is 0% contained.  The Ranch2 Fire comes on the heels of another large and fast-growing fire that erupted Wednesday near Lake Hughes, north of Los Angeles.  That fire has burned more than 11,000 acres and is 12% contained as of 9 a.m. ET Friday according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

LOS ANGELES — A rare summer thunderstorm brought lightning that sparked several small blazes in Northern California on Sunday and stoked a huge forest fire that has forced hundreds of people from their homes north of Los Angeles. More than 4,500 buildings remained threatened by the wildfire, which was burning toward thick, dry brush in the Angeles National Forest. Firefighters already battling the blaze in steep, rugged terrain in scorching heat faced more hurdles Saturday when hundreds of lightning strikes and winds up to 15 mph pushed the flames uphill. …Temperatures were expected to hit the mid 90s to 100s, Miller said, a slight drop from Saturday when the mercury hit 111 degrees (44 Celsius) on Saturday at the firefighters’ base camp. Thunderstorm and gusty wind could return in the late afternoon.

MOSIER, Oregon — Authorities said Saturday a wildfire burning in the scenic Columbia River Gorge has burned 11 homes, with hundreds more threatened. Meanwhile in central Oregon, people in hundreds of homes and at least three mobile home parks were told evacuate immediately Saturday evening because of a wildfire. …Officials had earlier disclosed that four structures, including two homes, had burned. But further assessment conducted on Friday revealed that 11 homes had been destroyed — two of them unoccupied — as well as two commercial buildings and 18 outbuildings.

A wildfire that started between Hood River and The Dalles in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge grew quickly Wednesday afternoon, prompting mandatory evacuations. Gov. Kate Brown announced Wednesday evening that she’d made an emergency declaration to make more resources available. At about 7 p.m. department spokesperson Christie Shaw estimated the blaze at about 50 acres (20 hectares) but by about 8:15 the forestry department said it had increased to 200 acres (81 hectares). Shaw said the blaze started as crews were mopping up another fire in the same area along Interstate 84 near Mosier. … investigators do not immediately know the cause of either fire. Winds caused the second fire to spread, and around 6 p.m., the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders for people who live on several roads in the Mosier area. … Shaw said the department of forestry estimates about 200 structures are threatened by the fire.

Hours after the massive Lake fire exploded in the Angeles National Forest near the 5 Freeway on Wednesday, the blaze exhibited extreme and alarming behavior, at one point forming a tornado-like flaming vortex. Though such a phenomenon — commonly referred to as a fire tornado or fire whirl — is not unprecedented in California, it demonstrates the intensity with which the fire burned as it quickly grew to more than 10,000 acres. The National Weather Service characterized the event as “an impressive and terrifying example of extreme fire behavior, when the fire is so hot it creates rotation, along with very strong updrafts and pyrocumulus.”

A “very active” 1,540-acre forest fire is burning in the Chambers Lake area of the upper Poudre Canyon, prompting mandatory evacuations. Officials have closed Colorado Highway 14 from Rustic to Gould in central Larimer County and ordered mandatory and voluntary evacuations in the area around Chambers Lake Campground. …Roosevelt National Forest spokeswoman Tammy Williams said in a final update of the evening at 9:30 p.m. that emergency managers are coordinating evacuations in the area and conducting assessments of facilities and construction supplies stored in the area. …”With current weather conditions and fire behavior, we expect the evacuation area to grow,” a tweet from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office stated. Smoke from the Cameron Peak Fire combined with the nearly 70,000-acre Pine Gulch Fire near Grand Junction and more than 6,200-acre Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon have created smokey and unhealthy air quality conditions.

A brush fire quickly scorched thousands of acres on Wednesday in the Angeles National Forest, prompting evacuation orders and road closures in the Lake Hughes area. The blaze … was reported at about 3:45 p.m. near North Lake Hughes Road and Pine Canyon Road, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. At around 4 p.m., officials said the fire was roughly 50 acres. By 4:30 p.m., the flames burned 400 acres, and the LACFD said it had the potential to reach 1,000 acres. About two hours later, flames quickly spread to about 10,000 acres, with 0% containment. Fire officials said the blaze is unusual based on it developing earlier in the fire season and the speed at which it spread, with the absence of strong wind. It is also a history-making event due to some of the areas catching fire for the first time since 1968.

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The number of firefighters working the East Beach Road Fire at Lake Crescent continues to be trimmed or “right-sized” as fire containment progresses, the Western Washington Type 3 Incident Management Team overseeing the operations said Wednesday. The fire remained at 84 acres in size with 65 percent containment Wednesday. Three hand crews with 84 total personnel bolstered by two engines and two fallers worked Wednesday to extinguish hot spots while cautiously and deliberately identifying snags and hazards within the fire footprint to mitigate potential damage from rolling debris … A hard closure of East Beach Road has been put in place due to the threat of hazard trees and rolling debris posing dangers to motorists traveling in that area.