CA Wildfires: See A Map Of All Fires Burning

CALIFORNIA — At least 12 wildfires are blazing through parched and drought-stricken areas of California as the state enters fire season. With fire season beginning in the Golden State, it'll be important for Californians to keep tabs on where fires are burning to keep safe.

An interactive map created and updated by the National Alliance for Public Safety GIS Foundation shows where all active fires are burning. The map shows recently contained fires and regions that have a red flag warning in place.

While the map does not show evacuation routes, the foundation also maintains a spreadsheet with updated evacuation maps in areas that apply.

This week across the nation, there were at least 70 large active fires and complexes of multiple fires that have burned nearly 1,659 square miles, the National Interagency Fire Center said.

In California, at least a dozen fires were burning as of Tuesday, according to multiple fire agencies, but most of the rapidly spreading and biggest fires were raging inland, near the state border.

The three largest and most concerning fires as of Tuesday were the Beckworth Complex in the Plumas National Forest (105,348 acres) and the Tamarack Fire, burning in Alpine County (39,045 acres) and the Dixie Fire in Oroville (30,074).

The Bootleg Fire, burning in Southern Oregon, has scorched 388,359 acres and even ripped through transmission lines last week that power California.

Pacific Gas & Electric equipment may have sparked the Dixie Fire burning in Northern California, according to a report released by the utility over the weekend.

Earlier this month, a repair man reportedly spotted what he suspected to be a blown fuse while he was responding to an outage in Feather River Canyon off of Highway 70 in Oroville. Due to rough terrain and road work, the worker could not reach the pole for several hours, the utility said. By the time he reached the area, two or three blown fuses may have sparked a fire at the base of a healthy green tree leaning on the pole that held the conductor.

The perfect concoction of worsening drought, rising temperatures and arid fuels suggested that the Golden State is in for another devastating wildfire season, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned in May.

"You're already feeling the temperature shifts," he told reporters. "You already saw those red flag warnings, which are earlier in May than we've seen in many, many years because of the winds that are coming earlier. "

Californians last year were hard-pressed to find refuge between an intensifying coronavirus pandemic and a hellscape of wildfires that hampered air quality all over the state.

A historic 4,257,863 acres of California burned last year in the state's largest fire season in modern history. As fire season was already in full swing last year, more than 12,000 lightning strikes hammered the state, igniting massive fires. The state also experienced its first "gigafire" in 2020: a burn area that exceeded 1 million acres.

This year, the state is falling deeper into drought, which means that firefighters could be up against thousands of miles of dry brush, grass and trees across the state, all ripe for a wildfire season amplified by warming, dry temperatures and high winds.

READ MORE:

• 4 Key Things To Know About CA's 2021 Wildfire Season
• PG&E Says Its Equipment May Have Sparked NorCal Fire