Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Year: 2022

Mosquito Fire prompts evacuations near Foresthill, California

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 3 Comments on Mosquito Fire prompts evacuations near Foresthill, California

Updated 6:50 p.m. PDT September 8, 2022

Mosquito Fire map
Mosquito Fire map at about 5 p.m. Sept. 8, 2022.

The Mosquito Fire east of Foresthill, California made an impressive run Thursday afternoon, growing from 8,265 acres at 1:30pm to 13,705 acres at 5pm — an increase of 5,440 acres in about 3.5 hours. Most of the growth was on the east half of the fire but the west side spread closer to Foresthill.

At times the rapidly expanding fire was putting up multiple convection columns topped by pyrocumulus clouds.

Mosquito Fire
Mosquito Fire as seen looking ENE from the Auburn camera at 5:32 p.m. Sept. 8, 2022.

The number of areas under evacuation orders has increased. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office has produced a map with the details. You can follow the Sheriff on Facebook and Twitter for evacuation updates.
https://www.facebook.com/PlacerSheriff
https://twitter.com/PlacerSheriff

On Thursday structures were being threatened in Volcanoville and Foresthill.

Mosquito Fire satellite photo
The Goes 17 satellite detected heat and smoke from the Mosquito Fire at 606 p.m. PDT Sept 8, 2022.

On Thursday afternoon the temperature topped out at 101 degrees in Foresthill, the relative humidity dropped to 15 percent, and the wind was only 2 to 5 mph mostly out of the west. The forecast for Friday calls for 102 degrees, 15 percent RH, and winds out of the east and northeast around 5 mph shifting to the west/southwest at 6 to 12 mph in the afternoon with gusts up to 20 mph.

Updated 7:43 p.m. PDT September 7, 2022

Mosquito Fire map 4:03 p.m. Sept 7, 2022
Mosquito Fire map 4:03 p.m. Sept 7, 2022.

Wednesday afternoon the Mosquito Fire east of Foresthill, California spread significantly north and east. On the north side it moved into the Michigan Bluff area, while on the east side it spread beyond Gorman Ranch Road, along Mosquito Ridge Road, and across Blacksmith Fit.

Mosquito Fire 6:35 p.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022
Mosquito Fire as seen from Bald Mtn Eldorado camera looking north at 6:35 p.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022.

At about 4 p.m. the FIRIS aircraft mapped it at 4,223 acres, an increase of approximately 3,000 acres since 11 a.m.

Evacuation information is below.

3:23 p.m. PDT September 7, 2022

Mosquito Fire map
Mosquito Fire map 11:09 a.m. Sept 7, 2022.

Evacuations have been ordered for the Mosquito Fire in the Foresthill area of Northern California, 17 miles northeast of Auburn.

Wednesday morning the fire was about a mile east of Foresthill, and was burning very actively during the afternoon. The estimated size at about 11 a.m. was 1,220 acres.

Most of the fire is within the boundaries of the Tahoe National Forest. It was reported at about 6:27 p.m. Tuesday September 6.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office has ordered evacuations. They produced a map with the details.

You can follow Placer County Sheriff on Facebook and Twitter for evacuation updates.
https://www.facebook.com/PlacerSheriff
https://twitter.com/PlacerSheriff

Mosquito Fire
Mosquito Fire as seen from Bald Mtn Eldorado camera looking NNW at 1:59 p.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022.

Fairview Fire: two dead, thousands of acres burned south of Hemet, California

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , , 5 Comments on Fairview Fire: two dead, thousands of acres burned south of Hemet, California

The fire started at around the same time the power company reported “circuit activity”

Updated 8:23 p.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022

Fairview Fire map, 3:50 p.m. Sept 7, 2022
Fairview Fire map, 3:50 p.m. Sept 7, 2022.

When the Fairview Fire was mapped at 3:50 p.m. Wednesday most of the recent growth was on the east side, on both sides of Baustista Canyon Road. The FIRIS aircraft determined that it was 9,840 acres.

Fairview Fire 6:16 p.m. Sept 7, 2022
Fairview Fire, as seen from the Idyllwild fire camera looking WSW at 6:16 p.m. Sept 7, 2022.

Updated at 1:52 p.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022

Fairview Fire south of Hemet, CA
Fairview Fire south of Hemet, CA, looking west-southwest from the Idyllwild camera at 149 p.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022.

Updated 12:58 p.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022

Fairview Fire map 10:07 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022
Fairview Fire map 10:07 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022.

Wednesday morning CAL FIRE said the Fairview Fire southeast of Hemet, California has grown to 7,091 acres. Activity on the fire began to increase at around noon on Wednesday as you can see in the photo below.

Fairview Fire
Fairview Fire, looking west-southwest from the Idyllwild camera at 12:51 p.m. Sept 7, 2022

Much of the spread over the last 24 hours was on the north and east sides. It reached Baustista Canyon Road in several places where the additional spread was stopped by agricultural land. But at Blackburn Canyon there was nothing but brush on both sides and it spotted across the road. When the fire was mapped at 10:07 Wednesday morning it had run east beyond the road for nearly a mile through rugged country. At that time it was about three miles west of Highway 74.

On the west side of Baustista Canyon Road where it burned across, is the fire scar from the 2019 Fairview Fire which blackened 1,740 acres. That three-year old footprint was not a major barrier. Nor was, on the east side of the road, two fires from 2001, the 181-acre Baustista Fire and the 262-acre Canyon Fire.

Following those barriers of little consequence there is no recent fire history to the east of the Fairview Fire until it reaches Highway 74 and the Mountain Center Area where the 2018 Cranston Fire burned 13,229 acres, and further to the north, the 2,410-acre Cottonwood Fire of 2009.

Continue reading “Fairview Fire: two dead, thousands of acres burned south of Hemet, California”

Radford Fire near Big Bear Lake in Southern California prompts evacuations

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 8 Comments on Radford Fire near Big Bear Lake in Southern California prompts evacuations

The fire is south of the Snow Summit Ski area

Updated at 8:02 p.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022

The Radford Fire at Big Bear Lake in Southern California was mapped at 1,052 acres at about 12:30 p.m.

The video below shows a hotshot crew conducting a burning operation on the fire.

The next video was shot by the FIRIS mapping aircraft at 11:17 a.m. Wednesday. When it switches from visual to infrared, the white areas represent heat. If you look carefully you may see some circular black areas along a ski run where sprinklers have been activated.

Updated 7:15 a.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022

Radford Fire Map 12:20 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022
Radford Fire Map 12:20 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022.

As the sun came up Wednesday morning cameras showed the Radford Fire near Big Bear Lake in Southern California was very active. A 12:20 a.m. mapping flight found that it had grown to about 980 acres and had spread 0.4 mile north of Skyline Drive/FR 2N10. At that time it was between the two ski areas, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, but was still high on the slopes, about 0.8 mile from Switzerland Drive.

Radford Fire
Radford Fire as seen from the Bear Mtn. camera looking northwest at 6:50 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022. Snow making infrastructure is being used to wet down the vegetation near the ski runs.

The ski areas are using the water systems for the snow making machines to wet down the vegetation on the ski runs.

Radford Fire
Radford Fire as seen from the Lakeview Big Bear camera looking south at 6:51 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022.

Evacuations are in effect. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office has the current details.

Updated 10:34 p.m. PDT September 6, 2022

Radford Fire Map 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2022
Radford Fire Map 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2022.

The Radford Fire south of Big Bear Lake has spread to and crossed over the NF-2N10 road above the Snow Summit ski area. The US Forest Service says the fire has grown to 917 acres.

Continue reading “Radford Fire near Big Bear Lake in Southern California prompts evacuations”

California forests hit hard by wildfires in the last decade

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 13 Comments on California forests hit hard by wildfires in the last decade

About 25 percent of the states’ forestland burned in the last 10 years — more than triple the previous decade

BAe-146 drops Winding Fire
BAe-146 drops on the Winding Fire in Northern California June 18, 2022. InciWeb.

By Jim Schmidt

Of the 32.1 million acres of forestland in California, approximately 2.1 million acres (6.6%) burned in wildfires in the 2002-2011 time period. In the following decade (2012-2021), that figure more than tripled to 7.9 million acres (24.7%).

National Forests in California were particularly hard hit.  10.1% of 12.7 million acres of forestland managed by the USDA Forest Service in California burned in 2002 – 2011 time period.  In the 2012 – 2021 decade that figure increased to 38.8%. Excluding areas that re-burned in the last 10 years, 44.5% of the forestland in California National Forests has burned in the last 20 years.  In contrast, only 22.6% of National Park forestland in the state has burned in the same time period. About 14 million acres of forestland in California are in private hands.  17.0 % of private forestland has burned since 2001.

Forestland acres burned California last two decades
Forestland acres burned by wildfires in California by owner class, 2002 – 2021. Jim Schmidt

The following maps display the forestland areas and the areas that have burned in California in the last two decades. Fires were concentrated in Southern California in the 2002-2011 time period and in Northern California in the last 10 years.

Map, California forestland and wildfires, 2002 - 2011
California forestland and wildfires, 2002 – 2011. Jim Schmidt
Map, California forestland and wildfires, 2012 - 2021
California forestland and wildfires, 2012 – 2021. Jim Schmidt

The article was edited September 7 with revised figures to account for areas that reburned, which account for about 5% of the forestland burned on National Forests in the last 20 years.

Jim Schmidt retired from the Stanislaus National Forest where he worked as a GIS specialist.

In Northern California, Mill Fire slows, Mountain Fire grows larger

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , 1 Comment on In Northern California, Mill Fire slows, Mountain Fire grows larger

Evacuations are in effect

Mill Fire 3-D map
Mill Fire 3-D map, looking north at 7:34 p.m. PDT Sept. 3, 2022. The small orange areas represent intense heat.

Two wildfires in Northern California, the Mill and Mountain Fires, have burned a total of more than 10,000 acres in and near the town of Weed 56 air miles north of Redding. Both fires are being suppressed by CAL FIRE’s Incident Management Team 5.

Mill Fire

The fire is believed to have started near a lumber mill where it destroyed a commercial building and spread very rapidly through a portion of the town of Weed. It continued for another five miles to the north until it reached Lake Shastina.

Map of the north end of the Mill Fire
Map of the north end of the Mill Fire, looking north at 7:34 p.m. PDT Sept. 3, 2022. The small orange areas represent intense heat.

Initially working with aerial imagery, officials determined that 132 structures had been affected. Damage assessment teams began ground truthing the information on Sunday. The initial early estimates from the Mayor of Weed and a CAL FIRE Unit Chief were that 100 homes were destroyed.

Evacuation orders and warnings are still in place but officials are repopulating areas where safely possible. A map is at Zonehaven.

Additional growth of the Mill Fire on Saturday was minimal. It was mapped Saturday evening at 4,254 acres.

Map of the Mountain and Mill Fires
Map of the Mountain and Mill Fires. The red dots represent heat detected by satellites at 4:21 a.m. PDT Sept. 4, 2022. The red lines were the perimeters at about 7:40 p.m. Sept. 3, 2022.

Mountain Fire

About 12 miles west of Weed the Mountain Fire had burned 6,451 acres when it was mapped Saturday evening, but it continued to spread into the night to the north and west. There have been no reports of destroyed structures and 685 remain threatened. Approximately 332 people have been evacuated.

Evacuations are in effect. A map is at Zonehaven.

The fire is very different from the Mill Fire. There are fewer structures close to where it is presently burning, it is in remote, rugged terrain, and there is little road access. Fire behavior in the last 48 hours has been described as extreme, with hazardous trees, snags, strong gusty winds, and high temperatures. The area ranges from 2,700′ to 6,000′ elevation. On September 2 a Fuels and Fire Behavior advisory was issued for Northern California due to extreme drought, extremely dry fuels, and extended periods of hot weather. It warned that fire behavior would be elevated for the near future.

Mountain Fire 3-D map
Mountain Fire 3-D map looking north. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 4:21 a.m. PDT Sept 4, 2022. The red line was the perimeter at about 7:40 p.m. Sept. 3, 2022.

There is no nearby significant recorded history of fire in the National Interagency Fire Center database. However that database is often lacking complete information. The fire has the potential for growth in all directions, including through numerous clear cuts with dry, light to medium flashy fuel.

Threatened communities include Gazelle and Scott Valley.

Parks Fire burns from Washington into British Columbia

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , 17 Comments on Parks Fire burns from Washington into British Columbia

Multiple fires close to the Pacific Crest Trail lead to closure of its northern terminus

2:10 p.m. PDT Sept. 3, 2022

Parks Fire map Washington British Columbia
Parks Fire map 3:02 a.m. PDT Sept. 3, 2022.

The spread of numerous fires have led to the closure of the northernmost portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) including its terminus at the Canadian border. Most northbound hikers finish in August or September, so it is likely that quite a few will be devastated that they can’t complete the entire 2,650-mile journey.

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest posted the following message on Facebook September 1:

Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Closure:
Due to increased fire activity and growth, the Kid Fire is now about three miles from the PCT. With the Red Flag Warning in effect through tomorrow evening, we have closed the northern section of the PCT from Holman Pass North (at the junction with Trail #752 and Trail #472.1) to the Canadian Border. Wilderness Rangers are on the PCT near Hopkins Lake basin and Forest Service staff at Harts Pass Guard Station are helping direct hikers and providing information. There is no re-route at this time. Please stay tuned for more information.

Since that message was posted the Parks Fire has grown very rapidly into Canada. We were unable to find any public details posted by the US Forest Service about it and other fires in the area, but we estimate it has burned at least 5,000 acres. It is the largest near the northern terminus of the PCT between mileposts 2,637 and 2,652. To the west are the Three Fools, Skagit, Elbow, and Shull Creek Fires. The Parks and Kid Fires are east of the trail.

We have counted 9 fires in Washington that are within 11 miles of the international border.

Parks Fire Washington and British Columbia
Parks Fire. Posted Sept. 2 by USFS.

The Parks Fire has spread four miles north of the border and early Saturday morning was a mile or two east of Manning Park, BC just south of BC Highway 3.

None of these fires, including the 5,000+ acre Parks Fire, were listed on Inciweb, the National Situation Report, or the Northwest Geographic Area’s public Morning Brief or Detailed Situation Report when we published this article just after 2 p.m. PDT Sept. 3, 2022.

Fires near the northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail,
Fires near the northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail, September 3, 2022. The purple line is the PCT.