CA Fires 2020: Crews Brace For Critical Fire Day; 3.7M Acres Burn

CALIFORNIA — Amid Red Flag Warnings and temperatures sharply rising all over the state, 17,000 firefighters braced for elevated fire danger Sunday. Firefighters were already on the frontlines of two new fires Sunday, one near St. Helena Napa County and another near Redding in Shasta County.

The blaze in Napa County sparked just before sunrise Sunday and had already scorched 1,000 acres by noon.

Mandatory evacuations and warnings have been issued for the area around the "Glass Fire," which sparked near St. Helena and the communities of Deer Park and Angwin in Napa County.

The Zogg Fire ignited Sunday afternoon and immediately prompted evacuations. Ten people were trapped in the 8600 block of Zogg Mine Road, but they were safely evacuated, according to the Record Searchlight. The fire had scorched 400 acres and pushed massive smoke plumes into the air.

Due to sharply rising temperatures Sunday, Pacific Gas and Electric was poised for widespread power shutoffs across Northern California. The heat, combined with wildfire smoke and vehicle smog, prompted air district officials to issue a Spare the Air Alert over the weekend.

And while firefighters prepared for fire weather in the north this weekend, a high pressure system building over the western states was predicted to bring hot and dry conditions to Southern California this week.

Santa Ana winds were building Sunday, elevating the fire weather threat through much of the week, the National Weather Service said.

"A Fire Weather Watch is in effect Monday across the Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego Mountains, Santa Clarita Valley and San Diego Valley due to gusty Santa Ana winds and low humidity," Cal Fire said Sunday.

Crews rushed through the week to contain fires in anticipation of a busy weekend and were able to contain the 17,000-acre Valley Fire, gain 90 percent containment over the Snow Fire, as well as 18 new fires that sparked Friday.

First responders were also able to gain 65 percent containment on the massive Bobcat Fire Sunday, which has now scorched more than 114,000 acres.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Friday in Del Norte, Los Angeles and Mendocino counties to deploy more resources to the massive fires burning across the state.

He also extended an executive order to send recovery efforts to communities across the state. The order is set to provide bill payment extensions to impacted families and expedite cleanup of debris and hazardous waste around fire zones.

U.S. Forest Service officials were investigating Southern California Edison in connection to the Bobcat Fire. The utility reportedly experienced an issue with its equipment around the same time the fire sparked. The blaze has become one of the largest in Los Angeles County history.

READ MORE: Bobcat Fire: Feds Investigate SCE; 65 Percent Containment

As for outages in the northern reaches of the state, the following counties may be affected Saturday: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Kern, Lake, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama and Yuba.

A Red Flag Warning was in effect for Saturday through Monday, affecting areas from Trinity County down through the Diablo Range and Central Sierra Mountains, bringing low humidity and warm conditions.

"Gusty winds and low humidity will bring critical fire weather, as well as unseasonably high temperatures," Cal Fire said Saturday.

A Fire Weather Watch is also in effect for Sunday and Monday for strong winds and low humidity affecting the Western Klamath in the north and the San Gorgonio Pass and Inland Empire in the south.

"With Red Flag conditions in many parts of the state over the next few days, fires in these areas can spread rapidly," Cal Fire said. "Making quick and safe evacuation is critical to protecting your life and your family."

Cal Fire offers a website dedicated to helping individuals prepare for and prevent wildfires. Ready For Wildfires can be accessed here.

Through the hard work of our firefighters, additional containment on the #BobcatFire has been secured. The fire is now 114, 004 acres and 61% contained. pic.twitter.com/jUQfVPQo3H
— Angeles_NF (@Angeles_NF) September 26, 2020

Since the start of 2020, more than 8,100 wildfires have sparked, burning more than 3.7 million acres in the Golden State. Fire officials say that this is the largest fire season on record in terms of acres burned.

The fire season was kicked into peak season in mid August, when a series of dry lightning storms ravaged the state. Since then, 7,000 structures have been destroyed and 26 have died.

#RedFlagWarning - The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning across much of Northern California due to critical fire weather. Watch this short video to learn more.

Learn more as well at https://t.co/upBwccxXFO

Caption version: https://t.co/d1VzCqiBb0 pic.twitter.com/6uPHrDtsIu
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) September 26, 2020

As fire season rages on, containment on the massive Bobcat Fire grows, and 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's more on some of the major fires burning as of Sunday, via Cal Fire:

**CALFIRE Incidents**

Glass Fire, Napa County, (more info…) (NEW)
4 miles east of Calistoga
*800 acres, 0% contained
*Evacuation orders in effect and additional evacuations in progress
*North Bay Type III Incident Management Team on order
READ MORE: Brush Fire Burns Near St. Helena; Evacuation Ordered

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)
*305,188 acres, 78% 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.
Creek Fire, Fresno County (more info…)

Northeast of Shaver Lake (Sierra National Forest)
*302,870 acres, 39% 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
*149,888 acres, 47% 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)
*873,079 acres, 43% contained
*South Zone 487,666 acres, 70% contained
*North Zone 280,577 acres, 36% contained
*West Zone 104,836 acres, 70% contained
*1 fatality
*86 structures destroyed
*Includes multiple fires including the Elkhorn, Hopkins, Willow, Vinegar, and Doe fires
*A California Interagency Incident Management Team and Great Basin Team in command
*CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 3 & 5 are deployed on the West Zone of the complex.

**Federal Incidents**

Snow Fire, Riverside County (more info…)
Snow Creek Rd, west of Palm Springs
*6,254 acres, 90% contained.
El Dorado Fire, San Bernardino County (more info…)
West of Oak Glen (San Bernardino National Forest)
*22,666 acres, 92% contained
*1 fatality
*10 structures destroyed
*California Interagency Incident Management Team 13 in command.

Fox Fire, Siskiyou County (more info…)
7 miles southwest of Callahan
*2,188 acres, 83% contained
*Evacuations in place.
Slater Fire, Siskiyou County, (more info…)
5 miles North of Happy Camp (Klamath National Forest)
*154,102 acres, 32% contained
*2 fatalities
*Evacuation orders in place.

Devil Fire, Siskiyou County, (more info…)
5 miles north of Upper Devil’s Peak (Klamath National Forest)
*8,406 acres, 18% contained.
Bobcat Fire, Los Angeles County (more info…)

North of Duarte (Angeles National Forest)
*114,004 acres, 61% containment
*Evacuations in place
*Unified command with the US Forest Service, Los Angeles County Fire Department and Monrovia Fire Department.

Dolan Fire, Monterey County (more info…)
Hwy 1, 10 miles south of Big Sur (Los Padres National Forest)
*128,417 acres, 57% 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, 45% contained.

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

Lake Fire, Los Angeles County (more info…)
Southwest of Lake Hughes
Angeles National Forest / Los Angeles County Fire Department
* 31,089 acres, 97% 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)
*110,113 acres, 31% contained.

Blue Jay Fire, Mariposa County (more info…)
Yosemite National Park Wilderness
*4,598 acres, 50% contained.

Wolf Fire, Tuolumne County (more info…)
Yosemite National Park Wilderness
*1,077 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.