SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Nearly 16,000 firefighters continued working to contain lightning-sparked blazes across California on Sunday, continuing to gain the upper hand in a second week of pitched battle against the fiery rampage.
For residents in much of the Bay Area, though, the blanket of smoke that has laid over the region in the past two weeks is likely to linger, the National Weather Service said. Winds will slow and warm, dry conditions will be the norm this week.
Since the lightning siege that started on Aug. 15, CalFire officials estimate that 15,800 firefighters, 2,400 fire engines, 345 bulldozers and over 100 aircraft have been fighting to keep the flames at bay. Over two dozen wildfires have burned more than 1.42 million acres, CalFire said.
The LNU Lightning Complex, in the North Bay, the third-largest wildfire in the state's history, stood at 375,209 acres and was 56% contained as of Sunday morning. Three Napa County residents and two Solano County residents have been killed by the fire, which has damaged or destroyed 1,402 structures.
CalFire officials said they lifted some evacuation orders as repopulation efforts continued in many communities throughout the fire zone that have been deemed safe enough to return. About 10,350 structures were still threatened as of Sunday.
Officials said about 2,819 firefighters were on the ground fighting the Hennessey and Walbridge Fires in Napa, Lake and Sonoma counties. Both fires, which are considered part of the LNU Complex, stood around 55% contained Sunday.
The SCU Lightning Complex, in the South Bay and further east, ranks as the second-largest wildfire in California's history, behind only the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire. It had burned 377,471 total acres and was 50% contained as of Sunday morning, with 62 structures damaged or destroyed. About 20,065 structures remained threatened.
Firefighter teams were battling through dense old growth brush and narrow overgrown roadways in their efforts to keep the fire inside of the control lines, but humidity above 2,000 feet meant the fire remained active overnight, officials said in a Sunday morning update.
The CZU Lightning Complex, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, had burned 84,640 acres and was 35% contained as of Sunday morning. It had taken the life of one Santa Cruz County man and damaged or destroyed over 7,639 residences and hundreds of commercial and minor structures.
Firefighters worked aggressively overnight to build containment lines around the complex in very warm and dry conditions, officials said. Though damage inspection is now about 90% complete, fire officials said the number of destroyed structures may change as teams continue to make progress.
Just across the county line near Monterey, firefighters continued to make progress in counting two large blazes that have been burning for two weeks, aided by favorable weather conditions.
The River Fire, south of Salinas, has burned 48,000 acres since Aug. 16 but was about 87% contained as of Sunday. Fire officials also said the Carmel fire in Carmel Valley was about 89% contained Sunday after it burned 6,900 acres.
All evacuation orders and warnings for the two fires have been lifted and officials said air quality in Monterey County has improved to a level of "good."
A warming trend beginning Sunday won't be as pronounced as it was a few weeks ago, when California set new heat records, but temperatures will rise as much as five degrees through Tuesday as high pressure builds across the region, meteorologist Brayden Murdock said Sunday.
Those conditions are slowing winds down, Murdock said, so he is expecting the shroud of haze and smoke visible throughout the Bay Area will remain stagnant.
But despite drier conditions, there is no sign of a new storm system that could lead to dry lightning, Murdock said, though CalFire officials have said they'll remain on watch for strikes in the northern part of the state and the Sierra Nevada.
"We're holding back any chances for showers or storms," Murdock said. ""For now going into the long-term this high pressure is going to limit seeing any activity that could lead to dry lightning."
While some areas will see humidity sticking around, moisture in places like San Jose and the Tri-Valley will dissipate quickly, leaving little to stop rising temperatures and culminating in lasting, dry air conditions.
"We want to make sure that people are keeping an eye on the heat in the area," Murdock said. "It won't be as excessive as what we saw two weeks ago, but upper 90s is still a concern. Stay hydrated and make sure to have good ways to beat the heat."
