CA Fires: Zogg Fire Claims Fourth Life; 3.9M Acres Burn

CALIFORNIA — Tens of thousands have been forced to leave their homes in Northern California in the span of a few days as wearied firefighters work to gain ground against a new round of fire seizures. On Wednesday, 17,000 first responders were pitted against 26 major fires in another day of dry and warm conditions.

Another person died in the Zogg Fire, burning in Shasta County, officials announced Wednesday afternoon.

"He was transported to a hospital, and we received word last night that he succumbed to his injuries,” Sheriff Eric Magrini said in a news conference Wednesday. "So, again, our condolences go out to that family.”

The fire has claimed four lives, bringing the number of fatalities in this fire season to 30.

The Zogg Fire is one two explosive firestorms that arrived in California over the weekend, triggered by several days of arid, fire-favoring weather. The Zogg and Glass Fires have burned nearly 50,000 acres each.

Communities that were already covered in ash were further ravaged — particularly in wine country, where the Glass Fire has destroyed an unknown but surely catastrophic number of homes and business.

Winds did subside Tuesday, allowing firefighters to squelch the Fox Fire in Siskiyou County.

A fire weather watch was in effect Wednesday in Monterey County and The North Bay, which could stoke the Glass Fire even more.

"Locally gusty winds could be experienced in the Sierra and associated foothills, and Southern California mountain regions," Cal Fire said Tuesday. "A cooling trend is expected to arrive over the weekend, lowering temperatures and raising humidity."

On Wednesday, Cal Fire described a dire situation in which two firefighters were forced to deploy fire shelters as flames closed in around them late Sunday night.

Winds fueled towering flames as the two first responders drew their aluminized cloth tents around them. These last-resort "shelters" reflect radiant heat and provide a volume of breathable air.

SEE ALSO: Hell On Earth: 14 Photos Of The Devastation In CA's Wine Country

In 2020, otherwise known as California's worst fire season, 3.9 million acres have already burned — and fire season isn't predicted to subside until November. La Nina conditions are forecast for California, which could keep the state dry for much of the winter.

The Zogg Fire, burning near Redding, has burned 51,955 acres and is 7 percent contained. The fire has also destroyed nearly 150 structures, with firefighters reportedly undermanned and lacking resources such as hand crews and engines, according to ABC7's KRCR News.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 7,200 known structures have been reduced to ash — with countless more taking significant damage in Shasta County where the Zogg Fire burns and in Napa and Sonoma counties where the Glass Fire rages.

The Glass Fire first advanced into Sonoma County on Sunday and merged with the Shady and Boysen fires — both of which sparked overnight.

SEE ALSO: Historic Chateau Boswell Winery Burns Down; More Landmarks Lost

A 120-year-old home at Tofaneli Vineyard and the 41-year-old Chateau Boswell Winery were lost to the Glass Fire flames Monday. It was still too early to tell at that point how many landmarks and businesses were reduced to ash in the fast-moving fire, but some business owners reported on social media Monday that their establishments were still standing.

More than 8,500 structures remain threatened by those combined fires, and many people have already lost their homes in the Skyhawk neighborhood of eastern Santa Rosa, according to multiple reports.

The fire has forced massive evacuations, consumed many homes and sent tens of thousands fleeing from their communities in Napa and Sonoma counties. The entire city of Calistoga was evacuated Monday as high flames threatened to engulf the city. More than 5,000 people in Calistoga alone were forced to leave.

The area's red flag warning expired Monday, but high temperatures were expected to persist throughout the week.

Swaths of Pacific Gas and Electric customers were also out of power intermittently through the week.

"... That's due to the fire itself or at the request of firefighters, we proactively turned off the power for safety," PG&E Spokeswoman Deanna Contreras told Patch.

There are 6,500 affected Sonoma County customers in Santa Rosa and Kenwood; In Napa County, 5,200 customers in St. Helena, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Pope Valley, Napa and Angwin were without power.

"PG&E's most important responsibility is the safety of our customers, employees and communities we serve," Contreras said. "PG&E is working with first responders as they fight the Glass Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties to help make areas safe for first responders."

PG&E said it will work to restore power safely and as quickly as possible in the areas where it's safe for to enter and assess the damage to our equipment to start repairs.

"We have been assessing damage in some areas, which is step in making repairs and restoring power," she said.

The flames jumped Highway 12 in Oakmont Monday, forcing a large senior citizens community to evacuate by bus as flames threatened nearby hills, according to multiple reports.

In Southern California, where the massive Bobcat fire still rages, elevated fire weather remained, as the intense Santa Ana winds entered the southern reaches of the state Monday.

"Warm and dry conditions persist across the state for the rest of the week," Cal Fire said.

The fire weather warnings and persistent, arid conditions come weeks after the state's last heat wave pushed temperatures to record-shattering highs and prompted utility companies to conduct rolling power outages all over the Golden State as the power grid became overwhelmed.

This new wave of fire weather across the state arrived right as firefighters managed to mop up a wind- and lightning-driven firestorm that ravaged California in August and September, including the LNU, SCU and CZU complex fires. Crews also contained the 17,000-acre Valley Fire and gained 90 percent containment over the Snow Fire last week.

READ MORE: SEE ALSO: Wildfire Smoke Could Affect Pregnant Women Disproportionately

Cal Fire offers a website to help people prepare for and prevent wildfires. Ready For Wildfires can be accessed here.

And as fire season rages on, new records continue to be set.

Cal Fire says these new records have been recorded this season:

• 5 of the Top 20 largest wildfires in California History have occurred in 2020.
• Largest Wildfires - #1 August Complex, #3 SCU Lightning Complex, #4 LNU Lightning Complex, #5 North Complex, and #6 Creek Fire.
• Most Destructive - #5 North Complex, #10 LNU Lightning Complex, #11 CZU Lightning Complex, and #17 Creek Fire.
• Deadliest Wildfires - #5 North Complex and #20 LNU Lightning Complex.

SEE ALSO: Discovery Channel Partners With Cal Fire In New Series

Here are all of the major fires burning as of Wednesday, via Cal Fire:

**CALFIRE Incidents**

Zogg Fire, Shasta County (more info…)
Southwest of Redding
*51,955 acres, 7% contained
*3 Fatalities
*Evacuation orders in place
*146 structures destroyed
*CAL FIRE Team 2 in command.

Glass Fire, Napa County, (more info…)
4 miles east of Calistoga
*48,440 acres, 2% contained
*Evacuation orders in effect and additional evacuations in progress
*CAL FIRE Team 3 in command today.

LNU Lightning Complex, multiple North Bay counties (more info…)
Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Colusa, Solano, and Yolo Counties
*363,220 acres, 98% contained
*While no growth is expected, fire suppression repair work is ongoing.

SCU Lightning Complex, multiple Easy Bay counties (more info…)
Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara San Joaquin, Merced, and Stanislaus Counties
*396,624 acres, 98% contained
*While no growth is expected, fire suppression repair work is ongoing.

Butte/Tehama/Glenn (BTU/TGU) Lightning Complex, multiple Counties (more info…)
Butte, Tehama and Glenn Counties
*19,609 acres, 97% contained
*14 structures destroyed
*While no growth is expected, fire suppression repair work is ongoing.
**Unified Command Incidents**

North Complex, Plumas County (more info…)
Northeast of Oroville to southwest of Quincy (Plumas National Forest)
*314,949 acres, 79% contained
*15 fatalities
*2,342 structures destroyed
*Evacuations in place
*Includes the Bear and Claremont Fire
*CAL FIRE Team 4 is in unified command with US Forest Service IMT Team 4, Butte County Sheriff’s Office and California State Parks.

Martindale Fire, Los Angeles County (more info…)
Bouquet Canyon, Northeast of Santa Clarita
*230 acres, 20% contained
*Structures threatened
*Evacuation orders remain in place
*Unified Command USFS and Los Angeles County FD.

Creek Fire, Fresno County (more info…)
Northeast of Shaver Lake (Sierra National Forest)
*307,051 acres, 44% contained
*Evacuations in place
*Heavy tree mortality in the area
*855 structures destroyed
*CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 1 in unified command with USFS Great Basin Team 1.

SQF Complex, Tulare County (more info…)
3 miles east of Giant Sequoia National Monument
*151,426 acres, 61% contained
*Evacuations in place
*232 structures destroyed
*CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 6 in unified command with USFS Team 2.
**Coordinated Command Incidents**

August Complex, Tehama County (more info…)
Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama and Trinity Counties
Elk Creek and Stonyford area (Mendocino National Forest)
*949,055 acres, 47% contained
*South Zone 489,151 acres, 70% contained
*North Zone 341,488 acres, 37% contained
*West Zone 118,416 acres, 65% contained
*1 fatality
*86 structures destroyed
*Includes multiple fires including the Elkhorn, Hopkins, Willow, Vinegar, and Doe fires
*Pacific North West Team 2 in command of the South Zone
*Alaska Incident Management Team 1 is in command of the North Zone
*CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 5 is in unified command on the West Zone.
**Federal Incidents**

Snow Fire, Riverside County (more info…)
Snow Creek Rd, west of Palm Springs
*6,254 acres, 95% contained.

El Dorado Fire, San Bernardino County (more info…)
West of Oak Glen (San Bernardino National Forest)
*22,744 acres, 93% contained
*1 fatality
*10 structures destroyed
*California Interagency Incident Management Team 13 in command.

Fox Fire, Siskiyou County (more info…) (FINAL)
7 miles southwest of Callahan
*2,188 acres, 100% contained.

Slater Fire, Siskiyou County, (more info…)
5 miles North of Happy Camp (Klamath National Forest)
*154,145 acres, 45% contained
*2 fatalities
*Evacuation orders in place.

Devil Fire, Siskiyou County, (more info…)
5 miles north of Upper Devil’s Peak (Klamath National Forest)
*8,410 acres, 20% contained.

Bobcat Fire, Los Angeles County (more info…)
North of Duarte (Angeles National Forest)
*114,202 acres, 62% containment
*Evacuations in place.

Dolan Fire, Monterey County (more info…)
Hwy 1, 10 miles south of Big Sur (Los Padres National Forest)
*124,924 acres, 87% contained
*Structures threatened
*California Interagency Incident Command Team 15 in command.

Bullfrog Fire, Fresno County (more info…)
SE of Bullfrog Lake (Sierra National Forest)
*1,185 acres, 50% contained.

Fork Fire, El Dorado County, (more info…)
15 miles northeast of Pollock Pines (El Dorado National Forest)
*1,667 acres, 70% contained.

Apple Fire, Riverside County (more info…)
Oak Glen/Cherry Valley (San Bernardino National Forest)
*33,424 acres, 95% contained.

Red Salmon Complex – Humboldt County (more info…)
14 miles northeast of Willow Creek (Shasta-Trinity National Forest)
*120,236 acres, 31% contained.

Blue Jay Fire, Mariposa County (more info…)
Yosemite National Park Wilderness
*4,673 acres, 50% contained.

Wolf Fire, Tuolumne County (more info…)
Yosemite National Park Wilderness
*1,092 acres, 35% contained.

Woodward Fire, Marin County (more info…)
3 miles southwest of Olema (Point Reyes National Seashore)
*4,929 acres, 97% contained.

Slink Fire, Mono County (more info…)
2 miles west of Coleville (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest)
*26,759 acres, 86% contained.

Moraine, Tulare County (more info…)
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness
*668 acres, 70% contained.

Rattlesnake, Tulare County (more info…)
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness
*4,070 acres, 0% contained.
**Extended Attack**

Candy Fire, Riverside County (more info…) (NEW)
Candy Lane, Southeast of Lake Mathews Reservoir
*227 acres, 95% contained.