California fires: firefighters work to contain two of the largest blazes as 7,000 others burn – live | US news

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.

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 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.”

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 smokey 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 the fires are located have an “unhealthy” Air Quality Index.

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.

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.

• 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.”

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.

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.

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”.