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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Kari Paul (now) and Adam Gabbatt (earlier)

California fires: firefighters work to contain two of the largest blazes as 7,000 others burn – as it happened

One of over 200 homes destroyed in the CZU Lightening Complex fire, in Santa Cruz county, California on Monday.
One of over 200 homes destroyed in the CZU Lightening Complex fire, in Santa Cruz county, California on Monday. Photograph: Amy Katz/Zuma Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

Summary

Kari Paul here in Oakland, signing off for the day. Here are the top stories of the afternoon regarding the historic fires in California.

  • The two largest wildfires in California grew slightly overnight but officials are optimistic that favorable weather and reinforcements from other firefighting units will help their efforts to contain them.
  • Smoke Alerts have been issued to several counties in California and the state health department is encouraging all residents to stay indoors as much as possible.
  • Many evacuation orders were lifted on Tuesday for cities now safe from the blazes, but other cities including Felton and Ben Lomond were hit with new evacuation orders.
  • Smoke from California fires is wafting across the entire United States, making its way to the East Coast.

Updated

Because it is late in the day and the news is extra depressing lately, here is a picture of a Turkey Vulture inadvertently captured by a fire camera.

Officials have released a preliminary assessment map of damage caused by the CZU Lightning fire, which is extensive. Red areas on the map are “destroyed”, or have at least 50% of the area damaged by fires.

Images from a firefighter on the scene give a look at how extensive damage has been from on the ground.

Updated

Outside Magazine has published a heartbreaking letter from someone whose home located in the woods north of Santa Cruz was incinerated by the CZU Lightning Complex Fires.

The letter is authored by marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols and is addressed to his daughter.

We built your home around you when you were still inside your mother.

We built it stronger and more sturdy than it needed to be. I thought a lot about every piece of wood and stone. Every knob and switch. We filled it with our books, musical instruments, and interesting animal bones. I imagined you looking down after a bath through the railing upstairs.

The fire, which is now 15% contained, has destroyed 18 homes and other structures and damaged six. It burnt down all of Nichols’ home except for a stone chiminea. Read the full story here.

Updated

For more context into the dry, hot conditions that preceded the massive wildfires in California: July 2020 was the second warmest month on record, globally.

As summers get hotter and weather gets more severe, “megafires” like those we are seeing now in California will become more common. In California in particular, vegetation was parched from a relatively dry rainy season. When it was struck by lightning, it quickly was set aflame.

Smoke from the California wildfires has expanded, floating across the United States all the way to the East Coast. And it looks, as one journalist noted, like Big Foot.

The SCU Lightning Complex fire, the largest of several fires currently blazing across the state and the second largest wildfire in California history, is now 15% contained, officials from Cal Fire said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Some 363,772 acres of land have been burnt by the fire and 18 structures have been destroyed. There have been no deaths but five confirmed injuries of civilians and fire personnel.

Teams from nine different states are assisting California as it fights the fires, including Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

Updated

Some 600 goats have been successfully evacuated from Santa Clara County to escape the Coyote Fire, ABC7 reported on Tuesday.

Park rangers helped them get out safely as the fire approached.

Updated

The local Boys & Girls Club of St Helena and Calistoga near the wildfires is asking for donations to help those affected by the fires. They are accepting money, gift cards, meals, water and PPE to deliver to families who have evacuated and are camping.

Here are some other ways to help victims of the wildfires, which have displaced more than 100,000 people.

Local foundations include:

Napa Valley Community Foundation

North Valley Community Foundation

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County

California Fire Foundation

Others:

American Red Cross: online donations can be specifically directed to “California Wildfires”.

United Way of Northern California: The United Way is involved in programs for people affected by wildfires, including long-term recovery operations.

GoFundMe: The fundraising website has launched a “California Wildfire Relief Fund”. There are also pages for specific wildfire-related losses and other fundraisers including a memorial fund for a pilot who died when his helicopter crashed while dropping water on fires, and another to protect field farm workers, largely immigrants who are working in unsafe and smoky conditions as the fires rage on.

Facebook: The social media company launched its own fundraiser on Tuesday, offering to match up to $500,000 in donations to the Red Cross.

Updated

Fires in California have now charred 1.25m acres since 15 August when lightning strikes ignited blazes across the state, according to the latest numbers from Cal Fire.

The areas affected by fires have now reached the size of Delaware. These “megafires” could burn for weeks, Cal Fire officials warned.

Progress is being made. Evacuation orders for zones of the Walbridge fire, which is part of the LNU Lightning Complex, have been lifted after more of it was contained over the past few days.

The Walbridge fire is currently 54,503 acres and 17% contained. People are being told they can return to the cities of Healdsburg and Windsor, which were on the outskirts of the blaze.

Updated

The combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and wildfires in California have created a uniquely difficult situation, top health official Mark Ghaly said on Tuesday.

He said 3,383 evacuees are in congregate shelters rather than hotel rooms, meaning that sharing air could lead to more infections.

Firefighters have also had to modify how they work this year, as they generally stay in camps with close contact between shifts.

Cal Fire teams are in Felton, California, clearing brush from forests and paths as the CZU Lightning Complex approaches the area.

Felton has already been evacuated, as has surrounding cities Ben Lomond, and Zayante.

Updated

Children with homemade posters lined the streets in Pleasanton to thank firefighters for their efforts, according to a video shared with local news station KRON4.

Many firefighters are stationed at the Alameda Fairgrounds there.

In a press conference Tuesday morning, officials from the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit of Cal Fire (the California department of forestry and fire protection) shared that they have made significant progress in addressing the LNU Lightning Complex in the last 48 hours.

Officials attributed this progress to better weather and an increase in resources over the last five days. Monday and Tuesday saw calmer winds and cooler temperatures, and clearer air on Monday afternoon allowed aircrafts to carry out firefighting efforts. Planes and helicopters are often grounded when the air is too smoke-filled, the official said.

Firefighting personnel and supplies have come in from other states to supplement firefighting effort. Cal Fire now has 304 fire engines, 50 water tankers, four helicopters, and 2,194 personnel total, officials said.

As of Tuesday, the LNU Lightning Complex has burnt 352,913 acres and is now 27% contained. More resources from the national guard are expected in coming days.

Despite the increasing containment, there remain some “problem areas”, officials said, and the fires remain fast-changing. Many evacuations remain in effect and there will likely be more evacuation orders today.

Another official noted that even when these fires are contained, the danger is not over. “We are in the middle of peak fire season,” she said. “Once this fire is done we still have a long way to go.”

Updated

Smoke alerts have been issued to several California counties as wildfires continue to affect air quality across the state.

The California department of public health and the office of Governor Gavin Newsom have urged all Californians to stay indoors when possible, with windows and doors closed.

Coty Jen, an assistant professor at the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, told USA Today the concentration of tiny particles (PM2.5) in the Bay Area is roughly five times the daily average limit set by the EPA.

“Even healthy people are reporting headaches, bloody noses, etc, during this current smoke event,” Jen said.

Areas that have been issued smoke warnings include Concord, Livermore, Napa, Oakland, Redwood City, San Francisco, San Jose, San Rafael, Sebastopol, Vacaville, and Vallejo.

Reporting live from Oakland, California, this reporter can confirm the air is mildly smoky and uncomfortable to breathe. Going outdoors smells like a campfire and aerobic activities like walking or running can feel slightly more difficult. Oakland is experiencing a “moderate” air quality index today.

By comparison, Vacaville, where fires are located, have an “unhealthy” air quality index.

Updated

Wonder where animals go in a wildfire? Read this very sweet San Francisco Chronicle story to find out.

A “vast network” of animal sanctuaries and rescue groups has formed over many years of California wildfires to get animals evacuated safely when fires begin nearing.

More than 300 large animals are being housed at the Cow Palace, an events arena in Daly City. The facility, in just five days, took in 75 sheep, 68 cattle, 54 goats, 53 chickens, 36 horses, four peacocks, three llamas, one pig and one donkey named “Trouble,” according to the Chronicle story.

Even sanctuaries not in the direct path of the fires, but that have been affected by smoke, have moved animals to safer air. Goatlandia, a goat sanctuary in Santa Rosa, California has moved its animals elsewhere and offered its help to move other animals as the fires rage on.

Weather continues to play a major role in firefighting as historic blazes rage on in California.

Firefighters say good weather on Monday helped them to make progress fighting the blazes. But storms brewing on the border of Northeast California and Northwest Nevada threaten to spark more fires on Tuesday.

Nevada meteorologist Cassie Wilson said the storms pose threats including blowing dust, winds of more than 30 miles per hour, and dry lightning.

Dry lightning was the primary cause of the wildfires blazing across California this week. This makes them unique from the majority of wildfires in the US, which are triggered by human behavior including discarded cigarettes, campfires left unattended, and arson.

The fires in California this week are the second most destructive in the state’s history.

Updated

Aerial footage from NBC Los Angeles shows the devastation in Santa Cruz County, just South of the Bay Area.

The CZU Lightning Complex Fire there has destroyed more than 200 homes and other structures.

Firefighters said Tuesday they “had success” tackling the fires on Monday and anticipate more success over the coming days.

Good morning from the West Coast, this is Kari Paul, logging on to write about the fires raging about 40 miles from our Oakland office. Stand by for updates.

Summary

• The two largest fires in California grew slightly overnight, and 7,000 other fires are still burning in the state, but officials were optimistic that favorable weather conditions could help them to control the blazes.

•Firefighters at the CZU Lightning Complex fires, near Santa Cruz, “had success” in tackling the blaze on Monday, operations section chief Mark Brenton said. “We’re going to see for the next few days that same success,” he added.

•The SCU Lightning Complex covered 363,772 acres at 6am, officials said. Firefighters now have 15% of the blaze under control. The LNU Lightning Complex, north of San Francisco, occupies 352,913 acres, but firefighters have contained 27%.

Lake Berryessa, 40 miles west of Sacramento, became a sanctuary for people fleeing cities during the coronavirus epidemic.

Now much of the pretty town, which sits on an eponymous lake, has been ravaged by fire, turning the “lovely greenery into black and ashy swaths of land”, according to the San Francisco Chronicle:

The official damage to the area surrounding Lake Berreyssa is still unclear, but Sandy Storck, Chief of the Capell Valley Fire Station, said she knew of quite a few neighborhoods that were pretty much gone. The timing couldn’t have been worse, she said.

“People were just finding this as a fun area during COVID,” she said. “But now everything is burned.”

Gary Pratt inspects the ruins of his home at Spanish Flats Mobile Villa Park, near Lake Berryessa.
Gary Pratt inspects the ruins of his home at Spanish Flats Mobile Villa Park, near Lake Berryessa. Photograph: Peter Dasilva/EPA

Updated

The two largest fires in California grew slightly overnight, Cal Fire said, although firefighters have managed to contain the same proportion of each blaze.

The SCU Lightning Complex, already the second biggest fire in California’s history, is now 363,772 acres, Cal Fire said, up around 3,000 acres since Monday night. The fire, south-east of San Francisco, is 15% controlled.

The LNU Lightning Complex, north of San Francisco, has grown to around 352,913 acres since Monday. Firefighters have now contained 27% of the fire, compared to 25% yesterday.

The fires in California pose a real threat to some of the state’s rare ecosystems and wildlife – including redwood trees and the endangered California condors.

“Biologists are watching closely as the blazes encroach on old-growth redwood trees in Northern and Central California, where some giants are more than 1,000 years old and are known by individual names,” NPR reports:

While some seem to have been spared, Big Basin State Park — the oldest state park in California — saw significant fire damage.

Still, biologists say there are reasons to be hopeful, because redwoods have incredibly thick bark that can withstand wildfires. Even fully charred trees can sprout again.

[...]

For the endangered California condors, recovery is still tenuous. In 1987, just 27 birds remained. Scientists brought them into captivity to begin a breeding program. Today, there are about 100 condors free-flying on California’s Central Coast.

A fallen redwood tree burns in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, on Monday.
A fallen redwood tree burns in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, on Monday. Photograph: Marcio José Sánchez/AP

Firefighters expect to see success in the coming days in tackling the CZU Lightning Complex, near Santa Cruz, officials said this morning.

In a press conference IMT 3 operations section chief Mark Brenton said:

“We had success yesterday and the day before to a point, [and] we’re going to see for the next few days that same success.

“The weather’s going to start changing towards the end of the week, we’re preparing for that, we’re adjusting for that, but I think we have a very good plan.”

Jonathan Cox, deputy chief of Cal Fire San Mateo division, said that as of 6am PT the CZU Lightning Complex spanned 78,869 acres.

“The good news is we continue to make progress on containment, and we’re up to 17% containment this morning,” Cox said.

He said 330 structures have been destroyed by the fire, and another 25,000 structures are threatened. Cox said 1,611 personnel are assigned to the fire.

Good morning

California had cause for quiet optimism in its battle with deadly wildfires on Tuesday morning, as the state largely avoided predicted lightning storms and firefighters made progress in bringing one of the largest fires under control.

Seven people have died in the fires, which include two of the largest in California’s history, and at least 12,000 structures had been destroyed by Monday night.

Some 7,000 fires were still burning in California on Monday, but in the early hours of Tuesday firefighters made progress on containing the two largest fires.

The LNU Lightning Complex, currently burning through 351,817 acres of wine country, north of San Francisco, is 25% contained, the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) said.

At 360,055 acres the SCU Lightning Complex, south-east of San Francisco, is the second largest fire in California’s history. Cal Fire said it is 15% contained.

Calmer weather on Monday helped firefighters in their bid to wrestle the blazes under control.

“With the clear air, we were able to fly a lot more aircraft,” said Mark Brunton, Cal Fire operations chief.

Helicopters dropped 200,000 gallons of water on the blaze, Brunton said, calling it “the best day yet”.

Updated

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