PARADISE — Water experts are still finding traces of harmful chemicals in parts of the water systems burned by the Camp Fire and in interior plumbing more than a year after the disaster, but the cases are rare.

Fears about the contamination have been a hurdle for recovery. The water utilities say they are addressing the problem through tens of thousands of tests and hundreds of repairs.

One big question remained on the minds of residents: What about their own taps? Home plumbing is not the responsibility of the utility. Many residents paid for tests out of pocket. Now, an outside team of researchers is studying the issue with a grant.

So far, the team has found only a few cases where volatile organic compounds that are harmful to human health seened into home plumbing from the water system. Most of those cases tested largely below unsafe levels.

“We were kind of looking for those worst-case scenarios,” said Gina Solomon, the researcher leading the project. “What we found was actually really encouraging.”

Solomon presented the findings to the community at a meeting at the Paradise Alliance Church on Monday evening. Her study team includes experts from the Public Health Institute, UC San Francisco, and UC Davis. They sampled 125 structures in Paradise and Magalia in October and will continue sampling later this month.

Benzene, which has been linked to cancer, was detected in only two samples: one came from an outdoor hose bib that was unused since the fire, and the other came from inside an uninhabited home. Both were below the California regulatory limit.

Scientists are not exactly sure where benzene — which was first detected in water systems after an urban wildfire in Santa Rosa — comes from and how it spreads in a water system. One prevailing theory is that the contaminant comes from burnt plastic.

The team tested for over 100 volatile organic compounds.

Methylene chloride, a known carcinogen used in some solvents like paint and varnish removers, was also detected. It showed up at a quarter of the homes tested in Paradise. A handful of homes’ plumbing showed unsafe levels of the chemical. Paradise Irrigation District has also detected the chemical in some service laterals.

It might be formed from the burning of PVC pipes, according to some research recently unearthed by PID’s engineers. It might come from a reaction with galvanized pipes, which are more common in Paradise. It might also be a laboratory contaminant, said Solomon. So the team is re-sampling those homes to learn more.

Most commonly, they found disinfection byproducts linked to chlorine in most of the homes. The chemicals — trihalomethanes — are linked to cancer but did not surpass the regulatory limit in any of the samples and are not thought to be linked to the fire. Exposure can be limited with a water filter and with precautions like avoiding long hot showers, said Solomon.

Meanwhile, Paradise Irrigation District continues to test each service lateral to standing homes and lots that want to rebuild.

“We’re still finding the 5 percent, 2 percent that do have contamination, and it’s all over town and there’s no pattern, so it’s important that we still test,” said Sami Kader with Water Works Engineers.

A water quality committee looks over each test. More than 150 miles of main lines and 735 locations have been cleared so far. The utility is replacing service laterals to burned lots and service laterals with contamination. So far it has replaced 111.

Two weeks ago, PID approved a contract with a construction company to accelerate the repairs. The utility expects 650 laterals to be replaced by spring 2020.

The post Preliminary findings present that dangerous contaminants in burn scar plumbing are uncommon – Chico Enterprise-Report appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

BOULDER CREEK (CBS SF) – With the sky lightening and a strong atmospheric river moving south, Santa Cruz County officials announced Monday that they are lifting evacuation orders for residents who are in or near the burn scar life left by the massive fire of the CZU complex in 2020.

The order went into effect on Sunday in parts of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, where fears were heightened about the fire-ravaged areas of the Santa Cruz Mountains’ ability to withstand the torrential rains.

CONTINUE READING: UPDATE: Flood has closed the lanes of I-880; Harbor Bay Parkway from Alameda to Silverado Trail in Napa

The National Weather Service reported that the mountain town of Ben Lomond had fallen 7 inches in the past 24 hours, but the hills seemed to be holding up.

KPIX 5 weather center: Current conditions, maps, forecasts for your region

Many residents ignored the order and survived the storm in their homes.

“Yes, we’ll stay tuned,” said Steven Coleman from Boulder Creek to KPIX 5 on Saturday night. “Where else should we go?”

Those who stayed cited their experiences of dealing with large storms, evacuation fatigue, and fear of looting.

CONTINUE READING: Atmospheric Flow: San Francisco Bay Area takes wild one-day drive from extreme drought to flooded streets

“We’ll stay until it gets unsafe,” said Coleman.

“We decided to stay,” said another resident of Gloria Sitz.

Most people like Sitz either stayed with family and friends or paid more than a month for hotel rooms during last year’s CZU fire evacuation.

They said they don’t want to deal with it anymore.

“At my location we have a generator, we have chainsaws, we know how to use it, and we are prepared,” said Sitz.

There were lines at the local gas station in Boulder Creek on Saturday night as residents filled gas cans to power their generators.

MORE NEWS: Suspect wanted for filming at Petaluma Home

“If the power goes out, we have extra power,” said Alfredo Ramirez, who had just filled a five-gallon can. He also stopped.

The post Santa Cruz County Officers Raise Evacuation Orders For CZU Fireplace Burn Zone – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) – As an “atmospheric flow” rainstorm was approaching the Bay Area, evacuation orders for higher risk areas of Santa Cruz County were issued on Saturday afternoon as MPs went door-to-door to notify residents.

County residents are encouraged to call (831) 454-2181 with questions about evacuations and resources, and the county expects to open housing at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, according to Nicole Coburn, the county’s assistant administrator.

“The sheriff’s office began door-to-door operations on Saturday in anticipation of evacuations in higher risk areas,” Coburn said. MPs are contacting homes in the low-lying, high-risk areas with the highest potential for evacuation, the deputy administration official said.

TIED TOGETHER: Flood clocks issued as a storm against fire-scarred Northern California

Residents are encouraged to look up their evacuation zone at https://community.zonehaven.com. Residents are also advised to register landline, cellular, or VoIP phones with CodeRED by visiting https://www.scr911.org and signing up for notifications or texting SCR911 at 99411.

“We are in the process of finalizing plans for the evacuation shelter site and once we have solidified the site, we will inform the public of the site,” said Coburn.

Order to evacuate streams of debris for areas in and near the #CZUFire burn scar due to a strong storm. The order will take effect on Sunday, October 24th at 8 a.m. #KnowYourZone by looking up your address at https://t.co/s5GvnBLmyF.

– Santa Cruz District (@sccounty) October 23, 2021

Debris streams are fast moving masses of mud, rocks, boulders, trees, and sometimes houses or vehicles. They move fast and are often fatal to those who get in their way.

According to the district, the only way to avoid debris flows is to get to safety before a debris flow event.

Residents can find information about the debris flow at http://www.santacruzcounty.us/FireRecovery/DebrisFlow.aspx

County residents are encouraged to seek refuge with friends and families and local news or county social media accounts at http://www.twitter.com/sccounty or http://www.facebook.com/countyofsantacruz for Updates and additional information to keep track of information.

© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

The post Evacuation Orders Issued for CZU Burn Zones in Santa Cruz County – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

GRIZZLY FLATS, El Dorado County (CBS SF) – The Caldor fire, which burned in the Sierra east of Sacramento in El Dorado County, exploded overnight Tuesday and burned a number of houses, authorities said.

By Tuesday morning, the wildfire had burned more than 6,500 acres without containment in the Cosumnes River Canyon area of ​​the El Dorado National Forest. Access to the fire is extremely difficult due to the steep, rugged terrain, according to the US Forest Service. Fire officials said the wildfire was a rapidly changing incident with dynamic fire behavior.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office has ordered evacuations for Grizzly Flats and the surrounding areas including Leoni Meadows, Saw Town Creek, Caldor area including North South Road, Dogtown Creek south of Caldor Road, Barney Ridge east of Omo Ranch Road, Omo Ranch Road to North South Road, Caldor area including North South Road and Pi’Pi Valley to Armsrong Hill.

CALDOR FIRE: Information on incidents, evacuations, maps

Houses were burned down in Forest View Drive and Grizzly Flats Road. A Cal Fire battalion chief said he believed at least 50 homes were lost to the wildfire as gusty winds drove embers into homes with defensive space.

There are reportedly at least 200 houses in the area, and Cal Fire says more than 800 buildings are currently at risk.

Firefighters have been working on establishing indirect control lines on the eastern flank of the fire, while, according to the forest service, an emergency line was planned north of the fire. Fire officials said crews were challenged by staff shortages and other fire incidents in the state.

A red flag warning was in effect in the region until 8 a.m. on Wednesday. The hot and dry weather over the fire was expected to continue earlier this week and the winds will continue to pick up as the week progresses.

A power outage map from Pacific Gas and Electric showed that more than 1,000 customers in the area were without power as of Tuesday morning.

The wildfire began on Saturday night about six kilometers south of Grizzly Flats and about three kilometers east of Omo Ranch. The cause of the fire was still the subject of the investigation.

ALSO READ: Dixie Fire Update: New Mandatory Evacuation Orders Issued in Lassen County

An evacuation center has opened at Fireman’s Hall at 3734 China Garden Road in Diamond Springs. People in need of small animal shelters can contact El Dorado County Animal Services at (530) 621-5795.

The post Caldor Hearth In El Dorado County Grows To six,500 Acres; Properties Burn In Grizzly Flats – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

INDIAN FALLS (CBS SF) – Propelled by tinder-dry, drought-stricken trees and scrub, a wall of flames from the angry Dixie Fire roared through the town of Indian Falls, Plumas County, on Saturday night, leaving a devastating trail of charred vehicles that burned houses and destroyed homes Dreams.

The devastation occurred on the eastern edge of the 190,625 acre conflagration that devastated Plumas County for a week. Thousands have been evicted from their homes in rural wilderness communities across the county.

CONTINUE READING: Santa Cruz Police are investigating BLM wall vandalism as a hate crime

The Dixie Fire merged with the Fly Fire – reported at 4,300 acres and 5% containment – overnight on the eastern edge of the massive flame.

The #DixieFire East Zone Morning Fire Behavior Video Update for July 25th from @USFSPlumas #Greenville #CrescentMills #Taylorsville #IndianValleyhttps: //t.co/b3Li8YShMv

– CDE Office of Learning Environments (@CDEFacilities) July 25, 2021

While the images of Indian Falls were terrifying, there were victories too when the fire department was able to save some buildings from the fire. Buildings also burned in the rural town of Paxton.

Photo Gallery: Wall of Flames Burns Homes in Indian Falls

The Dixie fire, which began on July 14, burned in a remote area with restricted access and hampered firefighters’ efforts as it moved east, firefighters said.

It has triggered evacuation orders in several small communities and along the west bank of Lake Almanor, a popular retreat. But on Saturday it marched east with such intensity and speed that the firefighters had to retreat to safe havens.

Dixie fire. Click on the map to enlarge it

“The threats and risks associated with this fire are very real,” said Mike Minton, Commander of Cal Incident Team 2. “We are observing fire behavior, conditions and fuel conditions that are not common in this area. The rapid increase in fires we are seeing is very real – we saw that today at Greenville ‘Y’. It is very extreme fire behavior, which essentially meant that the fire fighters had to retreat to safe areas and allow this fire front to pass through. “

Other communities, including Taylorsville, Greenville, Twain, Crescent Mills, and Homes in Butterfly Valley, were also threatened by the March of Fire eastward.

CONTINUE READING: Jet fuel shortages affect air traffic in the west

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for Genesee Valley North, East Indian Valley and Grizzly Mountain on Sunday.

Among those who have been driven from their homes by the fire is Kylie Ojers, hoping the flames will spare their home.

“We were evacuated on Monday,” she said. “It was more than 20 miles away and now it’s only four miles from our house … It’s going straight towards our house.”

William Helt was also evicted from his home.

“It was raining ashes, it was just a dark sky, everyone had this troubled, ominous feeling, you know it was, you could tell there was panic,” he said of his exodus from the fire zone. “I was just hoping there would be a house to go back to.”

During an update of the fire Saturday night, Plumas County Sheriff Todd Johns asked residents to heed the call to evacuate.

“The fire is up on the ridge now (near Taylorsville),” he said, pointing to the rapid eastern growth on the map on Saturday. “You know how steep the mountains are behind you. If you haven’t, I highly recommend evacuating if you live on Arlington Road in Taylorsville. The fire activity at this point was insane. It’s extreme, most of the time it was unpredictable. “

“I ask the people who live and want to stay in Taylorsville to reconsider this and leave the area.”

On Sunday morning the fire was 21% contained, but those numbers seemed to be adjusting hourly as the fire spread aggressively.

5,022 firefighters were involved in the battle and 10,721 buildings were threatened.

The weather forecast for Sunday included the possibility of lightning and heavy brief rains. These gusty conditions will also create extreme wind behavior along the fire front.

“I wish I had better news,” Cal Fire meteorologist Julia Ruthford said Saturday night. “I know this is a pretty bad weather forecast. But that’s what we got. “

MORE NEWS: Dixie Fire grows to 190,625 acres; 21% included

DIXIE FIRE:

The post Houses Burn, Firefighters Wage Determined Battle With Dixie Fireplace In Indian Falls – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

The death toll from a massive fire that swept through the mountain communities of Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties has risen to 10, and 16 people remain missing, fire officials said Thursday evening.

The North Complex fire mushroomed in size this week, scorching a total of more than 252,000 acres and forcing some 20,000 residents in Plumas, Butte and Yuba counties from their homes. Officials said the bodies of seven more people were found Thursday as they searched through hamlets where the fire burned.

A hand crew was overrun by flames in the fire’s West Zone in Butte County, which had become extremely unpredictable due to erratic weather changes. The crew was able to escape, but two firefighters suffered minor injuries.

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Lance Georgeson of Mammoth Lakes paddleboards on Tenaya Lake on Sept. 13 in Yosemite National Park. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Thick smoke from multiple forest fires shrouds iconic El Capitan, right, and the walls of Yosemite Valley. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Benjamin Lewis takes a photo for a group of San Diego firefighters in Yosemite. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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A deer grazes in Cook’s Meadow as thick smoke shrouds the iconic landmarks of Yosemite Valley. 

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

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Thick smoke shrouds iconic Half Dome towering over Yosemite Valley in a view from Sentinel Bridge over the Merced River on Sept. 13. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Thick smoke shrouds Tenaya Lake on Sept. 13 in Yosemite National Park. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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A Cal Fire truck passes a burned-out vehicle on Stringtown Road on Friday in Oroville, Calif. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Propane gas burns Friday at the ruins of a home on Zink Road in the Berry Creek area of Butte County. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Melted goggles lie on the ground next to the burned-out truck on Stringtown Road. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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A crew from Trinity River Conservation Camp, a prison facility, does mop-up work on Stringtown Road on Friday, the day after a flare-up in the area. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Scorched cars in Brush Creek, Calif. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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A firefighter battles the Creek fire as it threatens homes in Madera County. 

(Noah Berger / Associated Press)

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Flames from the Bear fire in Oroville, Calif. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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A horse in a field in Butte County. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Frank Martinez, left, and Rick Wolfe with their nine dogs in Oroville, Calif. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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A fox pauses amid burned brush in Butte County. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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A statue is singed in Butte County. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Lake Oroville in Butte County. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters work to save a home in Butte County. 

(Noah Berger / Associated Press)

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A burned truck in Butte County. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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A firefighter battles the Creek fire in Madera County. 

(Noah Berger / Associated Press)

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A plume rises from the Bear fire as it burns along Lake Oroville in Butte County. 

(Noah Berger / Associated Press)

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A table stands outside the destroyed Cressman’s General Store in Fresno County. 

(Noah Berger / Associated Press)

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A vehicle streaks by as Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffery Shipman stands along California 168, with the Creek fire in the background on Sept. 6.  

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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The Laguna Hotshots Crew out of the Cleveland National Forest battles the Creek fire as it approaches the Southern California Edison Big Creek Hydroelectric Plant on Sept. 6 in Big Creek, Calif. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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Members of the Laguna Hotshots Crew walk down Huntington Lake Road to battle the Creek fire on Sept. 6. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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A member of the Laguna Hotshots Crew is silhouetted against a background of flames. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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The Creek fire burns along Huntington Lake Road on Sept. 6. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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A vehicle streaks along California 168 as the Creek fire creeps closer to Shaver Lake, Calif., on Sept. 6. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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A member of the Laguna Hotshots Crew battles the Creek fire on Sept. 6.  

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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A firefighter conducts a back-burn operation along California 168 as the Creek fire approaches the Shaver Lake Marina. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighter Ricardo Gomez sets a back burn amid the Creek fire near Shaver Lake Marina on Sept. 6.  

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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A firefighter works on the back-burn operation near Shaver Lake Marina. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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A duck swims in Shaver Lake as the Creek fire approaches on Sept. 6.  

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighter Ricardo Gomez battles the Creek fire with a back burn. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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The sky glows orange around Shaver Lake on Sept. 6. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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A firefighter conducts a back-burn operation amid the Creek fire near Shaver Lake on Sept. 6. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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Flames leap into the sky as fire engulfs trees near Shaver Lake. 

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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The Creek fire approaches the Shaver Lake Marina on Sept. 6.  

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighter Ricardo Gomez sets a back burn amid the Creek fire near Shaver Lake Marina on Sept. 6.  

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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A man stands on a dock at the Shaver Lake Marina as the Creek fire approaches on Sept. 6.  

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

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Flames consume dry brush around Santa Barbara firefighters as they set a backfire along Oro Quincy Highway in the aftermath of the Bear fire in Oroville. 

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The North Complex was one of the fires that exploded in size this week as record-high temperatures and strong winds beset the state. Flames raced through the northern Sierra Nevada foothills before dawn Wednesday — catching crews and residents off-guard as they leaped southwest toward towns in Butte County, including the community of Paradise, which was largely destroyed by the 2018 Camp fire.

Steve Kaufmann, a spokesman for the fire’s response team, said 2,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged, though that number may increase after crews further assess the area Friday.

So much smoke enveloped the region that it shaded the fire from the sun, reducing temperatures and increasing the humidity Thursday, according to an incident meteorologist. Though the smoke impedes firefighters’ aircraft response, it has helped with the firefight slightly. As of Thursday evening, the North Complex fire is 23% contained.

The incident is now the 10th-largest wildfire in state history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Wildfires have burned more than 3.1 million acres statewide this year — the largest amount on record. At least 19 people have died and thousands of structures have been destroyed.

Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said dangerously dry conditions led “to explosive fires that have really just skyrocketed us past the 3-million mark for the first time in our recorded history.”

“Unfortunately, with several more months of fire season to go, this number could continue to increase,” he said Thursday.

The Dolan fire, which ignited Aug. 18 north of Limekiln State Park in Monterey County, has also seen extreme growth this week. Officials said the combination of high temperatures, dry fuels and wind combined to more than triple the size of the fire, to more than 111,000 acres.

The fire also has spread to the Army’s Ft. Hunter Liggett, though that property has not been forced to evacuate, officials said.

Near the Oregon border, the Slater fire has grown to 120,000 acres since it ignited Monday in the Klamath National Forest. The fire is threatening the communities of O’Brien, Takilma, Cave Junction and Gasquet, and destroyed 150 structures in Happy Camp.

Embers fly across a roadway as the Bear fire burns in Oroville.

(Noah Berger/Associated Press)

While the mid-August lightning siege set California on the path toward a historic and horrifyingly active fire season, a second salvo of summer infernos has since pushed the toll to more devastating heights.

The unprecedented firestorm prompted the U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday to temporarily close all national forests in California.

Many officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have said the effects of climate change have helped set the stage for this year’s prolific fire season.

“I quite literally have no patience for climate change deniers,” he said Tuesday.

“You may not believe it intellectually,” he added. “But your own eyes, your own experiences, tell a different story.”

So far this year, almost 7,700 fires have ignited statewide, according to Berlant.

“This year has already been a very destructive fire season, and it is nowhere close to being over,” he said Wednesday.

Six of the state’s 20 largest wildfires have started in the past month or so, according to Cal Fire. That includes the August Complex, which has burned an all-time record 471,185 acres in a remote area in and around Tehama County.

The smoldering remains of a structure along Auberry Road, where the Creek fire tore through and jumped Highway 168 in Fresno County.

(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

That complex — which started Aug. 17 as a cluster of 37 distinct fires in the Mendocino National Forest — was 24% contained as of Thursday. The most recent acreage figure pushed it well past the 2018 Mendocino Complex fire, which burned more than 459,000 acres.

Crews have almost completely hemmed in the SCU Lightning and LNU Lightning complexes, which rank as the third- and fourth-largest wildfires in state history, at 396,624 and 363,220 acres, respectively.

The SCU complex — which began as a collection of about 20 blazes in Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties — is now 98% contained. Containment is at 95% for the LNU complex, which has charred parts of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solano, Yolo and Colusa counties.

Joining those complexes on the distressing leaderboard is the Elkhorn fire, which is burning in the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers national forests. It has scorched 255,309 acres — the ninth-largest burn zone — and was 27% contained as of Thursday.

Firefighters conduct a back burn operation along Highway 68 during the Creek fire as it approaches the Shaver Lake Marina.

(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

The massive Creek fire, which has chewed through more than 175,000 acres, destroyed an estimated 360 structures and prompted widespread evacuations in the Sierra foothills northeast of Fresno, is currently the 17th-largest in state history.

The fire caused an explosion in China Peak Mountain Resort, igniting a bunker of explosives that were used for avalanche mitigation, Fresno sheriff’s officials said. There was some damage to the resort, but no one was injured.

As is the case for the North Complex fire, the layer of smoke over the Creek fire has helped improve weather conditions. Milder winds and temperatures allowed firefighters to make progress for the first time, increasing the fire’s containment to 6%.

“We’re really trying to start gaining containment on this fire,” said Chris Vestal, a spokesman for the Creek fire response. “A lot of what we want to do is make sure everything that is standing stays standing.”

Firefighters also made progress with the fast-growing Bobcat fire, which doubled in size in one day to nearly 24,000 acres. The fire burning in the San Gabriel Mountains is now 6% contained, according to an incident report. The fire’s growth was largely in the northeast direction Thursday, sparing foothill residential communities.

The Transamerica Pyramid and Salesforce Tower in San Francisco are shrouded by wildfire smoke.

(Eric Risberg / Associated Press )

Six areas remain under an evacuation warning: Duarte, Bradbury, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Pasadena and Altadena.

Near Yucaipa, the El Dorado fire had burned almost 14,000 acres and was 31% contained as of Thursday morning. Though there’s no current threat to communities in Big Bear Valley, Cal Fire officials issued an advisory asking visitors to postpone visits to the area in case evacuations are ordered.

In San Diego County near the Mexican border, the Valley fire grew to 17,665 acres and was 35% contained, according to Cal Fire. Officials were reporting 15% containment for the 1,300-acre Willow fire, which sparked north of Smartsville in Yuba County on Wednesday. That fire has destroyed 30 structures, according to Cal Fire, while 700 others are considered threatened.

A firefighter watches flames ignite a tree as fire continues to spread at the Bear fire in Oroville.

(Josh Edelson / AFP )

The hope is that weather conditions will “improve across the state today, with most areas experiencing seasonal temperatures and dry conditions,” according to Cal Fire.

“Northern California should expect average temperatures through the weekend, with a possible cooling trend next week,” officials wrote in a statewide situation update Thursday. “In Southern California, temperatures will be at or slightly above normal.”

That would be a boon to firefighters, who have had to contend with a pair of scorching heat waves in the past few weeks. UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said that last month was “the warmest August on record in California.”

With fires raging throughout the West Coast, the skies over California have taken an apocalyptic turn — choking the air with ash and smoke in some regions, while snuffing out sunlight in others. Rarely have so many Californians breathed such unhealthy air.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District is warning that smoke and ash are likely to hit much of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties Thursday due to the two major fires locally and smoke flowing in from Northern California blazes.

The air district’s smoke advisory said that most of the Southern California region will be affected by smoke, with the highest readings of fine-particle pollution, tiny lung-damaging particles known as PM2.5, in areas closest to the Bobcat and El Dorado fires.

Smoke blowing in from Northern California “may also contribute to widespread elevated PM2.5 concentrations,” the air district said, but due to shifting winds, the smoke impacts “will be highly variable in both space and time.”

The air district said to expect “noticeable smoke and ash impacts” in southwest Los Angeles County, Orange County and southwest Riverside County.

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Brooks Hubbard with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers takes photos from the historic North Broadway Bridge over the Los Angeles River Tuesday morning as smoke and ash from the Bobcat fire cloak the area. 

(Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

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Elijah Simpson practices shooting hoops against a backdrop of smokey skies from the Bobcat Fire at Angel’s Gate Park in the San Pedro on September 16, 2020.  

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

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A helicopter fights the Bobcat fire burning dangerously close to Mt. Wilson Observatory. 

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view of Dodger Stadium and the downtown Los Angeles skyline at sunset is obscured by smoke, ash and smog on Sept. 14. 

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Visitors check their photos at Griffith Observatory with a smoky view of the Hollywood sign behind them. 

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Two people get ready to surf as a hazy red sun sets off Hermosa Beach. 

(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)

7/23

Smoke from the Bobcat fire burning in the Angeles National Forest blankets the Southland. 

(Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

8/23

An airplane flies through smoky skies in downtown Los Angeles. 

(Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)

9/23

A smoky haze envelopes Santa Monica Beach.  

(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)

10/23

Beachgoers walk along the shoreline in Laguna Beach beneath a hazy sky. 

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

11/23

A crow on a cypress tree in Garden Grove is silhouetted by a sun obscured by ash from Southland wildfires. 

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The sky is gray over the Santa Monica Pier as a family plays in the breakwater.  

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

13/23

A man walks his dog past the historic lifeguard tower in Laguna Beach as the sun is obscured by smoke from wildfires. 

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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An upbeat message on the South Coast Cinemas marquee in Laguna Beach is dimmed by the smoky air. 

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Surfers near the Manhattan Beach Pier under a smoky sunset. 

(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)

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Gray skies over the Santa Monica Pier.  

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

17/23

A hazy sun is seen behind the Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove. 

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

18/23

Despite the unhealthful air quality, Fabian Ortez of Riverside enjoys an afternoon of fishing off the pier in Seal Beach. 

(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

19/23

The Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove. 

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

20/23

A bicyclist travels along the 1st Street Bridge as smoke hovers east of downtown Los Angeles. 

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

21/23

Haze from the Bobcat fire looms over Azusa as it burns in Angeles National Forest. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

22/23

The Los Angeles skyline is shrouded in smoke from the Bobcat fire as seen from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. 

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

23/23

Haze from the Bobcat fire looms over Kare Park in Irwindale. 

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The bad air is being generated by fires raging in California, Oregon and Washington that are lofting smoke into the air in a massive plume that is blanketing the entire West Coast and extends far out into the Pacific.

But in Southern California much of that smoke has remained aloft. At the ground level, air quality remained in the “good” to “moderate” range Thursday morning across most of the region, except for areas near the Bobcat fire in the Angeles National Forest north of Azusa and Glendora, and the El Dorado fire in the San Bernardino Mountains near Yucaipa, where readings showed air quality in the “unhealthy” range.

Air quality has been significantly worse in Northern California, where raging fires this week have choked the air with smoke and ash and snuffed out the sunlight, casting a gloomy, orange pall over San Francisco and other areas. Air monitoring data Thursday morning showed unhealthy pollution levels in most of San Francisco and in other parts of the Bay Area.

Times staff writers Anita Chabria, Matthew Ormseth and Joe Mozingo contributed to this report.

The post Dying toll rises as California wildfires proceed to burn appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Dramatic aerial images captured the massive destruction wrought by wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington which have killed at least seven people including a 12-year-old boy and his grandmother. 

Ninety major fires across 13 western states have already burned more than 3.4 million acres – the size of Connecticut – and are still spreading in high winds amid fears that the number of casualties will rise. 

‘This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfire in our state’s history,’ Oregon Gov Kate Brown told a press conference. 

Entire communities have been razed with five towns ‘substantially destroyed’ and widespread evacuations taking place under apocalyptic orange skies. 

Only ‘smoldering ruins’ remained of large parts of the town of Talent, Oregon, said local resident Sandra Spelliscy. 

‘There are numerous neighborhoods where there are no structures left standing… dozens of homes [gone] and literally nothing except the skeletons of a chimney or an appliance,’ she said. 

Twelve-year-old Wyatt Tofte and his grandmother Peggy Mosso died in a blaze in the Santiam Valley community of Lyons, about 50 miles south of Portland. The boy’s mother is currently in hospital in critical condition after suffering serious burns.

The fire also was suspected of causing at least one death outside of Ashland, Oregon, while in Washington state a one-year-old boy named Uriel was killed and his parents Jake and Jamie Hyland were severely burned fleeing a fire in Okanogan County, police said.

Another three were feared dead in the California Bear Fire that swept through Butte County on Tuesday night.

MEDFORD, OREGON: Northridge Terrace is seen left in September 2019 and right after it was razed by this week’s West Coast wildfires which have ravaged communities and brought apocalyptic orange skies 

The map above shows 103 fires that have already burned more than 3.4 million acres across the western United States

TALENT, OREGON: Mountain View Estates in September 2019 (left) and September 2020 (right) after the massive wildfires. Only ‘smoldering ruins’ remained of large parts of the town of Talent, local resident Sandra Spelliscy said 

MEDFORD, OREGON: These satellite images show the destruction in western Oregon where officials fear more deaths

PHOENIX, OREGON: A close-up of the city of 4,500 people which has been devastated by the Alameda Fire 

TALENT, OREGON: The Rogue Valley Highway 99 in June 2018 (left) and on Wednesday this week (right) 

OREGON COAST: A satellite image of the state’s Pacific coast in December 2016 (left) and September 2020 (right) 

PHOENIX, OREGON: This infrared satellite image shows an overview of the destruction, with burned vegetation and property in black and grey, and healthy vegetation that has not been burned in red 

Wyatt Tofte, 12, (far left) and his grandmother Peggy Mosso (in the right-hand picture, left in dark blue) died in a wildfire burning near the Santiam Valley community of Lyons, about 50 miles south of Portland. The boy’s mother is currently in hospital in critical condition

Jake and Jamie Hyland were severely burned and their one-year-old son Uriel was killed as the family fled from a wildfire in Okanogan County, Washington, on Sunday night

Dramatic: The San Francisco Bay Bridge and the city skyline are bathed in apocalyptic orange as smoke and haze blows over the city, as seen from the artificial Treasure Island 

Butte county firefighters watch as flames tower over their truck during the Bear fire in Oroville, California on September 9

Security officials survey the Bear Lakes Estates neighborhood which was left devastated by the Almeda fire in Phoenix, Oregon

Houses and vehicles in the Bear Lakes Estates neighborhood which were left devastated by the Almeda fire 

Interstate 5 is seen in the background in the aftermath of the Almeda fire in Phoenix, Oregon. The road appeared to serve as a divider as nothing on the opposite side of the road was harmed by the fire

Homes were essentially wiped from the map as the fire took hold and laid claim to everything in its path, blown by the wind

Interstate 5 is seen on the left as the Bear Lakes Estates neighborhood is left devastated

A satellite image shows wildfires near Colton, Oregon on Wednesday as the scores of wildfires continued to rage 

One-year-old boy is killed and his parents are severely burned as they fled Washington wildfire

Jake and Jamie Hyland and their infant son Uriel were evacuating their property in rural Okanogan at around midnight on Sunday when they got trapped by the Cold Springs Fire. 

The family’s scorched truck was found abandoned on Tuesday afternoon, before search teams discovered Jake and Jamie, who is pregnant, gravely injured on the banks of the Columbia River. Baby Uri was already dead. 

The parents were transported to Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster before being airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. 

Jamie, 26, suffered burns covering 40 to 50 percent of her body and underwent surgery on her arms, a relative wrote on a GoFundMe page.  

Jake, 31, was burned on 25 percent of his body and was preparing for surgery on his arms as well.    

‘They are both still critical at this point, but Jamie is more so than Jake,’ the relative wrote.   

The Hyland family, who live outside Portland in Renton, had been visiting their house in Okanogan for Labor Day weekend. 

The relative said the remote property doesn’t have cell service, so it’s possible the family didn’t receive alerts about the fire blazing toward them until it was too late to evacuate safely.  

The Cold Springs Fire erupted near Omak on Sunday night and has already torched more than 163,000 acres. It was 10 percent contained as of Wednesday night. 

The cause of the fire has not been determined, but Okanogan County Sheriff Tony Hawley said Uri’s death will be treated as a homicide if it turns out to be an arson.  

Hawley praised the efforts of firefighters battling blazes around his community but expressed frustration with a lack of resources. 

He attributed aid delays to the fact that dozens of wildfires are currently burning across the state of Washington and around the western US. 

‘We’re competing for resources just like everyone across the nation,’ he said.  

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told the Sacramento Bee confirmed that three people have died. Their identities have not yet been released. 

The remains of three victims were found in two separate locations of the same fire, Honea said, bringing the total death toll from this summer’s devastating spate of California wildfires to at least 11. 

Hornea said at least 12 people remain missing in Butte County as the Bear Fire rages on. 

In Oregon, one victim was found close to where the Almeda Fire began near homes in Medford on Tuesday. 

Firefighters retreated from uncontrollable blazes in Oregon as officials gave residents ‘go now’ orders to evacuate, meaning they had only minutes to leave their homes.

‘It was like driving through hell,’ Jody Evans told local television station NewsChannel21 after a midnight evacuation from Detroit, about 50 miles west of Salem. 

In Okanogan County, Washington, the Hyland family got trapped by the Cold Springs Fire as they evacuated their property near Omak on Sunday night.  

The family’s scorched truck was found abandoned on the side of a road on Tuesday afternoon, before search and rescue teams discovered dad Jake and mom Jamie, who is pregnant, gravely injured on the banks of the Columbia River. Their one-year-old son Uri was already dead.

Jamie, 26, suffered burns covering 40 to 50 percent of her body and underwent surgery on her arms, a relative wrote in on a GoFundMe page.  

Jake, 31, was burned on 25 percent of his body and was preparing for surgery on his arms as well.  

Leanna Mikesler, from Clovis, California, said she had been forced to evacuate her home to escape wildfires before, but it was ’10 times harder’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

‘They call… the evacuation. And then you go from there to see if your house has been burned down,’ she said. 

Across the United States wildfires have burned nearly 4.7 million acres in 2020, the highest year-to-date area since 2018, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Most of the fires are in western states, where 17 new large blazes were reported on Wednesday, bringing the total to 90 that have burned more than 3.4 million acres – an area nearly the size of Connecticut.

Over a century of efforts by federal and state agencies to suppress naturally occurring blazes have left forests replete with dry timber and brush that provides fuel for large wildfires.

Home construction has encroached on some forests in recent decades, and owners are watching their houses burn as firefighters are unable to save property. 

Half-dozen fire experts who spoke to AP agreed that more extreme fire behavior in recent years has been driven by drought and warming temperatures they attribute to climate change. Among the most concerning developments is that fast-moving wildfires leave less time for warnings or evacuations.

Recently ‘we have seen multiple fires expand by tens of thousands of acres in a matter of hours, and 30 years or more ago that just wasn’t fire behavior that we saw,’ said Jacob Bendix, a professor of geography and the environment at Syracuse University who studies wildfires. 

Hotter temperatures, longer fire seasons and an estimated 140 million dead trees from a five-year drought mean that ‘fires in California are moving faster and growing larger’, said University of Utah fire expert Philip Dennison.

Mike Flannigan, who directs the Western Partnership for Wildland Fire Science at Canada’s University of Alberta, remembers the first report of a fire-created thunderstorm in 1986.

‘They were rare events, and now they’ve become commonplace,’ he said. ‘It’s because these fires are higher intensity.’

An orange glow fills the sky above the Embarcadero as smoke from various wildfires burning across Northern California mixes with the marine layer, blanketing San Francisco in darkness, on September 9, 2020 in San Francisco, California

San Francisco skyline is seen from Dolores Park in San Francisco, California on September 9. More than 300,000 acres are burning across the northwestern state including 35 major wildfires, with at least five towns ‘substantially destroyed’ and mass evacuations taking place

The Bobcat fire rages above Rincon Fire Station on Highway 39 in the San Gabriel Mountains, California

A view of the San Francisco Bay Bridge under an orange sky in the afternoon in San Francisco, California. The blazes across the states have made major metropolitan areas look apocalyptic 

An orange sky filled with wildfire smoke hangs above hiking trails at the Limeridge Open Space in Concord, California

A singed ice machine sits over a burned store during the Bear Fire, part of the North Lightning Complex fires, in unincorporated Butte County, California on Wednesday

Brown smoke from wildfires blowing westward in the atmosphere from California’s Sierra Nevada to the Coast Ranges and from Oregon can be seen on Wednesday

A prime example is the so-called Creek Fire in Sierra National Forest near Yosemite National Park, which exploded through miles of drought- and beetle-killed timber, moving so fast that it trapped hundreds of campers.

‘When you have a fire run 15 miles in one day, in one afternoon, there’s no model that can predict that,’ US Forest Service forester Steve Lohr said. ‘The fires are behaving in such a way that we’ve not seen.’

Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for California’s state fire authority, said of the Creek Fire: ‘You add the winds, the dry conditions, the hot temperatures, it’s the perfect recipe. This fire is just burning at an explosive rate.’

The phenomenon isn’t restricted to California. Doug Grafe, chief of Fire Protection at the Oregon Department of Forestry, said it was unprecedented in his state for fires this week to spread from the crest of the Cascade Mountains into the valleys below, and so quickly, ‘carrying tens of miles in one period of an afternoon and not slowing down in the evening – (there is) absolutely no context for that in this environment’. 

Winds of up to 50 miles per hour sent blazes racing tens of miles within hours, burning hundreds of homes as firefighters fought at least 35 major blazes across an area of Oregon nearly twice the size of New York City. 

Parts of Medford, Oregon, a popular retirement location with over 80,000 residents in the state’s scenic Rogue Valley, were under evacuation orders or warnings as a growing wildfire closed a section of Interstate 5, the primary north-south highway in the West.

The fire moved north to Medford from Ashland, where it started on Tuesday. The blaze did little damage to Ashland, home to the historic stages of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which normally draws more than 350,000 theatergoers a year.

The Holiday Farm fire is seen burning in the mountains around McKenzie Bridge, Oregon on September 9, 2020

Three chairs are all that remain at the Gates Post office in Gates, Oregon on Wednesday. The post office was destroyed along with several other buildings in the Santiam Canyon community as a result of the Santiam Fire

Charred debris is seen after the Bear Fire burned through Berry Creek, California

A swing and a burned-out vehicle are seen after the Bear Fire tore through Berry Creek, California

A scorched car rests in a clearing following the Bear Fire in Butte County. The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region

Charred items are seen after the Bear Fire burned through Berry Creek, California

A plume rises from the Bear Fire as it burns along Lake Oroville in Butte County, California

Appliances are seen scattered over the ground after the Bear Fire burned through Berry Creek including an old metal oven

Hundreds of horses have been brought to the fairgrounds in Salem by people fleeing the fires, along with llamas, goats and other animals. The Red Cross is helping people at the fairgrounds, which has been turned into an evacuation center

But as the blaze moved northward, it heavily damaged the small town of Talent with about 6,000 residents and Phoenix, with around 5,000, according to local police..  

Medford, with over 80,000 residents, was under evacuation orders or warnings as a growing wildfire closed a section of Interstate 5, the primary north-south highway in the West. 

The fire is suspected so far to have caused one death north of Ashland, said Rich Tyler, spokesman for the Oregon State Fire Marshal.

Brown saw no respite to the hot, windy weather and requested a federal emergency declaration for the state.

‘Absolutely no area in the state is free from fire,’ said Doug Graf, chief of fire protection for the Oregon Department of Forestry. 

The Oregon town of Mill City, about 65 miles south of Portland with a population around 1,900, also had major damage, and Malden, with about 200 people in eastern Washington state, was destroyed on Monday.

In central California, the Creek Fire about 35 miles  north of Fresno tore through a forest killed by drought and bark beetles as military helicopters pulled campers, hikers and residents out of the area.

Robert Pylant, 65, locates his fire safe in the rubble of his mobile home, early Wednesday in Gates, Oregon. All the trailers in Oak Park Trailer Park were destroyed along with the majority of the homes along East Sorbin Avenue

Hundreds of homes including entire communities were razed by wildfires in the western United States on September 9 as officials warned of potential mass deaths under apocalyptic orange skies

At least five towns were ‘substantially destroyed’ in Oregon as widespread evacuations took place across the northwestern state, governor Kate Brown said

Oregon Governor Kate Brown called the extreme heat and wind a ‘once in a lifetime event,’ as climate scientists blamed human activities for higher average temperatures that have supercharged fires.

‘This is proving to be an unprecedented and significant fire event for our state,’ Brown told a press briefing.  

‘This could be the greatest loss in human lives and property due to wildfire in our state´s history,’ Brown said, without providing details. 

Officials said 64,000 people had been evacuated from their homes as 28 major fires raged across the most populated US state. 

Evacuations were ordered for a broad area around a massive 200,000-acre wildfire burning north of Sacramento. Residents of more than a dozen towns including the city of Oroville were either told to evacuate immediately or be prepared to go. 

The fire raged perilously close to the town of Paradise, which was burned to the ground in 2018 by a wildfire, killing 85 people. 

Climate scientists blame global warming for extreme wet and dry seasons in the West that have caused grasses and scrub to flourish then dry out, leaving abundant fuel for fires.

In California, all 18 national forests were closed due to ‘unprecedented and historic fire conditions’.

To the south, the Creek Fire, about 35 miles north of Fresno, tore through the Sierra National Forest, which was susceptible due to drought and bark beetle damage, destroying over 360 homes and structures. 

President Barack Obama tweeted his concern over the dangers of climate change and urged voters to vote 

People gather at Alamo Square under an orange and yellow overcast sky overlooking the The Painted Ladies

A view of Cupid’s Span, a sculpture by Claes Oldenburge and Coosje van Bruggen, in the foreground and the Ferry Building Clock Tower in the background under an orange overcast sky in the afternoon in San Francisco

Traffic lights and car lights illuminate California Street during an orange overcast sky over the financial district in the afternoon in San Francisco. California wildfire smoke high in the atmosphere over the San Francisco Bay Area blocked the sunlight and turned the sky a dark orange and yellow shade for most of the day

Under darkened skies from wildfire smoke, a sailboat makes its way past the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and lights at Oracle Park Wednesday,

On Wednesday morning, people in San Francisco and elsewhere in California woke to a deep orange sky that triggered apocalyptic visions in a year already rife with disturbing events.

Skies so dark at times that it appeared more night than day were accompanied in some places with ash falling like snow, the cause being massive wild fires filling the air with smoke and cinders.

‘The orange skies this morning are a result of wildfire smoke in the air,’ San Francisco Bay air quality officials said in a tweet.

‘These smoke particles scatter blue light and only allow yellow-orange-red light to reach the surface, causing skies to look orange.’

As smoke gets thick in some areas, it blocks sunlight causing dark skies, the officials explained.

Photos of the eerie scene, particularly of a San Francisco skyline fit for a dystopian science fiction film, spread quickly on social media.

‘Is there a word for ‘the apocalypse is upon us burnt sienna?’ read one tweet fired off by someone who felt using the word ‘orange’ to describe the sky was being too kind.

Others likened the scenes to planets other than Earth.

People from San Francisco to Seattle woke Wednesday to hazy clouds of smoke lingering in the air, darkening the sky to an eerie orange glow that kept street lights illuminated into midday, all thanks to dozens of wildfires throughout the West

Looking down Lombard Street, Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill at right and the eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, are darkened by wildfire smoke

Under darkened skies from wildfire smoke, a waiter carries a tray of Irish Coffee to people having lunch at the Buena Vista Cafe Wednesday in San Francisco. The photo was taken just after midday 

Lunchtime on Wednesday in San Francisco has an otherworldly glow about it thanks to the smoke from the states wildfires 

The sky was turned orange as hazy clouds of smoke lingered in the air all day long which saw the street lights remain on

California wildfire smoke high in the atmosphere over the San Francisco Bay Area blocked the sunlight and turned the sky a dark orange and yellow shade for most of the day on Wednesday

‘If literal fire skies don’t wake us up to climate change, then nothing will,’ tweeted YouTube influencer and Zadiko tea startup chief Zack Kornfeld.

‘Enjoy joking about how crazy this year is because we made this mess and it’s only going to get worse.’

Dark skies blocking the sun chilled temperatures at what has historically been the warmest time year in San Francisco.

‘Geo-color imagery shows a very thick multilevel smoke deck over much of California,’ the US National Weather Service said in a tweet.

‘This smoke is filtering the incoming energy from the sun, causing much cooler temperatures and dark dreary red-shifted skies across many areas.’ 

An orange sky in the early afternoon as seen from King Street in San Francisco

People sit at Alamo Square under an orange and yellow overcast sky overlooking the The Painted Ladies, the iconic row of historical Victorian homes with a downtown backdrop

An orange sky at Alamo Square Park in the afternoon in San Francisco, California

An orange sky in the early afternoon with the San Francisco Bay Bridge in the background as seen from King Street in San Francisco

Traffic lights and car lights illuminate an intersection under an orange overcast sky in the afternoon in San Francisco

Smoke hangs over the San Francisco skyline on Wednesday as dozens of wildfires rage across California

A satellite image shows smoke from dozens of wildfires in California and Oregon billowing over the Pacific Ocean

Two of California’s largest wildfires are located just outside of San Francisco, which is seen covered in smoke on Wednesday

A frightening red haze has been cast over towns in Oregon as 35 wildfires rage around the state

Several Oregon residents shared photos of red-stained skies on social media. The photo above was taken in the middle of the day in Salem  

Similar red skies are seen in Northern California as the Creek Fire continues its path through Fresno County outside Yosemite

Smoke from California wildfires obscures the sky over Oracle Park as the Seattle Mariners take batting practice before their baseball game against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday in San Francisco

Golfers warm up on the driving range during the preview day of the Safeway Open in Napa, California, on Wednesday

A man walks along the Redwood highway by the Pacific Ocean as smoke covers Orick, California, on Wednesday

A woman crosses a street as smoke from wildfires covers an area near Eureka, California, on Thursday

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday night declared a state of emergency as his hard-hit state struggled to beat back the blazes.

The Labor Day weekend heat wave fueled new fires that pushed the state to set a new record for number of acres burned with 2,178,015 as of Tuesday night.  

The previous record was set just two years ago and included the deadliest fire in state history, the Camp Fire, which ripped through the town of Paradise and killed 85 people in November 2018.  

Cal Fire spokeswoman Lynne Tolmachoff said the new record was especially alarming because of how early in the year it was set. 

‘It’s a little unnerving because September and October are historically our worst months for fires,’ Tolmachoff told AP. ‘It’s usually hot, and the fuels really dry out. And we see more of our wind events.’ 

Compared to last year, California has seen over 2,650 more fires and a nearly 2000 percent increase in the acres burned year-to-date (January 1 – September 7), across all jurisdictions, Cal Fire said. 

The state has seen 900 wildfires since August 15, many of them started by an intense series of thousands of lightning strikes in mid-August. There have been eight fire deaths and more than 4,300 structures destroyed as of Wednesday. 

Randy Moore, regional forester for the Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region, warned that the blazes are expected to worsen in the coming days.  

‘The wildfire situation throughout California is dangerous and must be taken seriously,’ Moore told AP. ‘Existing fires are displaying extreme fire behavior, new fire starts are likely, weather conditions are worsening, and we simply do not have enough resources to fully fight and contain every fire.’   

Law enforcement officers watch flames into the air as the Bear Fire continues to spread in Oroville, California, on Wednesday

A Butte County firefighter douses flames at the Bear Fire in Oroville, California, early Wednesday morning

Butte County firefighters watch as flames tower over their truck at the Bear Fire in Oroville, California, on Wednesday 

An orange glow hangs over Yosemite as the Creek Fire draws near, threatening evacuations 

Oregon family runs out of gas while fleeing fast-spreading wildfires during camping trip 

An Oregon family’s camping trip took a terrifying turn when their car ran out of gas as they fled from a raging wildfire.  

Allison Hargett, her husband Tyler and their six-year-old daughter Lilly drove up to Detroit Lake State Park on Labor Day to go boating. 

Hours after they settled in for the night, the family was awoken by evacuation orders at about 1am on Tuesday as the Beachie Creek Fire encroached on their campgrounds. 

The Hargett family quickly hitched up their boat and packed up their car to drive to safety, following behind their friends, Tim and Adamma Dye.  

As they made the trek out of the evacuation zone, Allison filmed several videos from the car which showed the forest enveloped by an eerie orange glow as flames consumed dozens of trees and embers cascaded from the sky.   

The family made it about 20 miles before their car ran out of gas outside Mill City, trapping them in the Marion County evacuation zone. 

Thankfully, they weren’t alone on the road. 

‘[Our friends] were in front of us and saw that we pulled over and turned around, tossed their stuff in the back seat and told us to get in and let’s go,’ Allison told CNN on Tuesday.   

Despite being forced to leave behind their boat, car and much of their gear to fit into their friends’ vehicle, Allison said her family was grateful to have made it to safety.  

‘We completely ran out of gas and would’ve been stranded. They saved us,’ she said.  

On Tuesday night, Cal Fire said that the Creek Fire had worsened in the previous 24 hours owing to strong winds.

‘The fire continued to grow under extreme conditions,’ the agency said in an update. ‘The Red Flag Warning for strong winds will impact the fire in the early morning, with stronger winds to come. The fire made wind driven runs and increased spotting distance. 

‘Red Flag Warning in effect until 11 pm Tuesday for high temperatures, low humidity and high winds.’

The California National Guard (CNG) was called in over the weekend to rescue more than 400 hikers and campers who found themselves trapped in the mountains after roads were closed to the Creek Fire. 

More than 200 people were airlifted from Mammoth Lake over Saturday and Sunday – and another 148 were rescued from near Lake Edison and Chinese Peak early Tuesday morning, the CNG said.  

Officials said at least 65 more hikers could still be trapped in the Sierra National Forest as rescue efforts continue.    

One hiker had been confirmed dead from an apparent heart attack, and officials warned there may be multiple more casualties.   

In Southern California, fires burned in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, and the forecast called for the arrival of the region’s notorious Santa Anas. The hot, dry winds could reach 50 mph at times, forecasters said.

People in a half-dozen foothill communities east of Los Angeles were being told to stay alert because of a fire in the Angeles National Forest.

‘The combination of gusty winds, very dry air, and dry vegetation will create critical fire danger,’ the National Weather Service warned.

The US Forest Service on Monday decided to close all eight national forests in the southern half of the state and shutter campgrounds statewide.

Firefighters have made headway with one blaze in the area – the El Dorado Fire – which was sparked on Saturday by a gender reveal photoshoot, when a pyrotechnical smoke device sent sparks into the bone-dry brush.

The El Dorado Fire has burned more than 12,474 acres as of Tuesday night and is 18 percent contained. 

Officials said the family behind the gender reveal debacle could face civil or criminal charges for the fire. 

The threat of winds tearing down power lines or hurling debris into them and sparking a wildfire prompted Pacific Gas & Electric, the state’s largest utility, to shut off power to 172,000 customers over the weekend.  

In Washington state, the town of Malden was almost entirely destroyed.

Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers said that 70-80 percent of homes in the town of 300 people have gone up in flames.

Local news network KREM showed pictured of the charred Malden post office, a fire still burning inside the gutted building.  

The fire station, city hall and other buildings were also consumed, Myers said.

‘The scale of this disaster really can’t be expressed in words,’ he said. ‘The fire will be extinguished, but a community has been changed for a lifetime. I just hope we don’t find the fire took more than homes and buildings. I pray everyone got out in time.’

Larry Frick, who lives in Malden, told KXLY that he spent three hours to save his house amid the flames.

‘It’s gone, brother,’ he texted his sibling after the fire swept through. ‘The entire town is gone. Everything from here to Pine City is gone. The scariest time of my life.’ 

KREM said that at least nine wildfires were burning throughout the Inland Northwest on Monday, amid dry and windy conditions.

Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz tweeted on Monday evening that, ‘Today alone, almost 300,000 acres in Washington have burned.’

‘Thousands of homes are without power. Many families have had to evacuate their homes and many homes have been lost,’ Franz wrote. ‘We’re still seeing new fire starts in every corner of the state.’

Governor Jay Inslee noted that more acres burned on Monday than in 12 of the last fire seasons in the state.  

‘We think all of these are human-caused in some dimension,’ Inslee said.

Allison Hargett, her husband Tyler and their six-year-old daughter Lilly had driven up to the lake on Labor Day to go boating when they were suddenly awoken by an evacuation order at about 1am Tuesday as the Beachie Creek Fire encroached on their campsite.  

The Hargett family quickly hitched up their boat and packed up their car to drive to safety, following behind their friends, Tim and Adamma Dye.  

As they made the trek out of the evacuation zone, Allison filmed several videos from the car which showed the forest enveloped by an eerie orange glow as flames consumed dozens of trees and embers cascaded from the sky.  

Allison Hargett, her husband Tyler and their six-year-old daughter Lilly (pictured together) were camping at Detroit Lake State Park when wildfire forced them to evacuate on Tuesday

The family made it about 20 miles before their car ran out of gas outside Mill City, trapping them in the Marion County evacuation zone. Thankfully, they weren’t alone on the road. 

‘[Our friends] were in front of us and saw that we pulled over and turned around, tossed their stuff in the back seat and told us to get in and let’s go,’ Allison told CNN on Tuesday.   

Despite being forced to leave behind their boat, car and much of their gear to fit into their friends’ vehicle, Allison said her family was grateful to have made it to safety.  

‘We completely ran out of gas and would’ve been stranded. They saved us,’ she said.  

The Beachie Creek Fire ignited on August 16 and has since torched more than 130,000 acres, according to local officials. It remains zero percent contained and is traveling at a rate of three acres per hour. 

High winds, dry conditions and a heatwave in the drought-stricken region helped fuel the fire over the weekend, prompting evacuations for several cities in Marion County, which includes Detroit Lake State Park.   

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office released video of multiple structures on fire in Mill City on Wednesday night, hours after the Hargett family and their friends left the area. 

Neighboring Clackamas County declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as four active fires – including Beachie Creek – put several communities under threat. 

As her family fled from the Beachie Creek Fire early Tuesday, Allison Hargett filmed several videos from the car which showed the forest enveloped by an eerie orange glow as flames consumed dozens of trees and embers cascaded from the sky

The post Three useless in California bear fireplace and two in Oregon as greater than 200 main fires proceed to burn appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – A series of vegetation fires burned near homes in an area off Interstate Highway 680 in San Jose Monday afternoon.

The San Jose Fire Department said the fire burned near Berryessa Road and I-680 and affected traffic in the area.

CONTINUE READING: Grass fire burns near the shoreline of the bay in San Rafael

The fire burned along the shoulder of the highway exit and flames reached the edge of the highway baffle next to a row of houses

The fire also blackened the highway’s shamrock. There was no immediate word about how it started.

Firefighters have contained a vegetation fire in the area of ​​Berryessa Road and Highway 680. The fire is not yet under control. Extensive overhaul expected. The cause of the fire has not yet been clarified. Be aware that traffic in the area is affected. Table of contents 3:40 p.m. pic.twitter.com/sq2bOKigKt

– San Jose Fire Dept. (@SJFD) May 10, 2021

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The CA Fire Scanner Twitter account described “multiple” fires nearby as gusty winds blew embers over a wide area.

#SanJose (Santa Clara Co) – E34 @ several fires along the N / B I-680 near Berryessa Rd. Now about 5 additional engines have answered, KWK asked for traffic control. # 680Fire pic.twitter.com/baLfegRtD6

– CA Fire Scanner (@CAFireScanner) May 10, 2021

Around the same time, firefighters were called to a fire that was burning near Autumn Parkway and W. Julian St., where firefighters believe trash and debris caught fire.

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This is an update for breaking news. More information will be added shortly.

The post Vegetation Fires Burn In San Jose Close to Houses In Space Of Interstate 680, Berryessa Highway – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.