Silly me, I thought that the heat waves and fires were over in California. Nope. Now there are more fires going on in southern and north California (near Big Bear, Point Reyes, near Sacramento-Oroville, Yuba City). Smoky-ash filled orange skies all over the place again.
California
14,000 firefighters are battling 25 major wildfires statewide have burned. California has already set a record with nearly 2.3 million acres burned this year.
CAL FIRE has increased staffing in preparation for critical fire weather in multiple areas of the State. More information at: https://fire.ca.gov/daily-wildfire-report/
“The Dolan Fire has charred more than 70,000 acres in the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County and was 40% contained, National Forest officials said in an update at 8 p.m. The fire, which started August 19, was burning 15 miles southeast of Big Sur, 37 miles southeast of Monterey and 170 miles south of Sacramento.
Due to unprecedented & historic fire conditions in CA, we are temporarily closing an additional 10 National Forests, meaning all 18 National Forests in California are now closed. The closure of the additional ten forests will be effective at 5 pm today. https://fs.usda.gov/detail/r5/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD801394
In Southern California's San Bernardino County, the El Dorado Fire has grown to more than 11,000 acres and is 19% contained, fire officials said.
California hasn't yet reached what is typically the heart of its fire season, when the Santa Ana winds really begin to add fuel to an already dangerous recipe for fire.
'“Now, extreme heat and high winds are the main culprit behind fires’ fierce spread. Most of California remains under red flag warning, Berlant said, through Wednesday: “This includes most of Northern California, including portions of the Bay Area. There is also a warning for the Eastern Sierras, the Mojave Desert, the Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles mountains, as well as the Inland Empire down into San Diego county.
“The conditions will bring strong, gusty winds and low humidity, increasing activity on current fires and can cause new fire starts to grow rapidly.”
California was not alone: Hurricane-force winds and high temperatures kicked up wildfires across parts of the Pacific Northwest over the holiday weekend, burning hundreds of thousands of acres and mostly destroying the small town of Malden in eastern Washington.
Oregon and Washington
From CNN about all of the west coast fires:
The west coast of the USA is on fire from California to Oregon to Washington state.
Found out about my beloved Oregon last night, from Ashland to Medford. Evacuation center in Grants Pass. My dear Cici and I spent some time in Oregon. Wanted to move to the beach in Florence. Camped out on the Rogue River and other places, visited the gorgeous Crater Lake and made friends in Grants Pass.
More info here about the Rogue weather and Beachie Creek and Grizzly and other fires in Oregon
A little bit about my travels with Cici in Grants Pass, Oregon