The outlook for the rest of the year includes more heat and dryness. “We’re right smack in the middle of wildfire peak season,” Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter said. “It’s steep and rocky - mountain goats probably wouldn’t even go there,” he said.Ĭalifornia After a disastrous summer of fire, California braces for a potentially worse fall “We’re really going to throw a lot of horsepower at this,” operations section chief Jon Wallace said of the area.įire incident spokesman Jack Owen said containment has so far evaded crews because of incredibly challenging terrain. The towering trees inside Giant Forest remained relatively unscathed Thursday, officials said, and the nearby historic cabin communities of Mineral King, Cabin Cove and Silver City are still a top priority as the fire pushes east.įirefighters have wrapped some of the century-old cabins in protective foil in much the same way they did the giant trees, and officials are hoping that a rocky rim known as Paradise Ridge will continue to stymie flames as crews lay hand lines and drag bulldozers where they can. Just north of the Windy fire in Sequoia National Park, the KNP Complex grew to 33,046 acres Thursday with no containment. “It pushed out and tested all of the containment lines.”įor days, the Windy fire has threatened the Trail of 100 Giants inside Long Meadow Grove, where at least one giant sequoia known as the Bench Tree was damaged by fire atop its crown.Ĭrown fires can be catastrophic even for the fire-adapted trees, with last year’s Castle fire burning 10% to 14% of the world’s sequoia population.Ĭalifornia The bold firefighting strategies that saved some of the world’s largest sequoiasĬrews have used controlled burns, protective foil and other protective measures to guard Sequoia National Park. “The fire actually grew on all sides - north, east, south and west,” he said.
Incident spokesman Steve Rasmussen attributed the fire’s latest run - a substantial 12,000 acres - to a dry air mass that brought low humidity and winds to the area, which helped fan the flames as they fed on critically dry vegetation. The fire had swelled to 43,745 acres and was 6% contained Thursday morning, officials said.
“You’re going to be able to see flame from the community of Camp Nelson.” “You’re going to be able to smell smoke,” operations section chief Seth Mitchell said during an evening update. All earlier evacuation orders remain in effect. Newly evacuated areas include Camp Nelson, Pierpoint, Coy Flat, Mountain Aire, Cedar Slope, Alpine Village, Rogers Camp and Sequoia Crest. Wednesday of several areas near the Windy fire, which is burning in Sequoia National Forest and on the Tule River Reservation. Meanwhile, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office ordered the evacuation just before 8 p.m. Smoke from the fires will affect several counties in California. The KNP Complex and the Windy fire have burned through nearly 60,000 acres combined. A new shelter has been set up at First Church of the Nazarene at 2225 Bechelli Lane in Redding.Ĭalifornia Wildfires approach more giant sequoias and worsen air quality across Central California
Residents under evacuation orders are being advised to leave immediately and bring important belongings, medications and pets with them.Ī temporary evacuation point in the Shasta College parking lot was closed because of the college’s evacuation, officials said. A map of evacuated areas can be found here. The sheriff’s office has issued evacuation orders for several areas near the fire, including portions of Holiday Road, Old Oregon Trail and Bear Mountain, as well as evacuation warnings for some areas near the 5 Freeway. By nightfall, it had grown to at least 5,500 acres. By midday Thursday, it had exploded to 1,200 acres, with Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson declaring a local emergency. The Fawn fire emerged in the Mountain Gate area near Redding on Wednesday afternoon. The Windy fire swirling around California’s giant sequoia trees spurred additional evacuation orders, while a new blaze in Shasta County sent residents fleeing from thick smoke and encroaching flames on Thursday.
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