2:07 p.m. PDT August 16, 2021
The heavy smoke layer that we have seen for days continued Sunday night to dampen fire activity on the Dixie Fire between Chester and Susanville, California. But on Monday Red Flag Warnings are in effect for critical fire weather conditions — 22 mph west-southwest winds gusting to 30 mph along with temperatures in the triple digits with relative humidity in the low teens. This could increase fire activity, pushing it to the east-northeast.
The Hot-Dry-Windy Index for the area on Monday is far above the 95th percentile. By Wednesday it will drop to around the 50th percentile before rising to around the 90th on Friday. The Hot-Dry-Windy Index is a prediction of potential fire spread. It is described as being very simple and only considers the atmospheric factors of heat, atmospheric moisture, and wind. To be more precise, it is a multiplication of the maximum wind speed and maximum vapor pressure deficit in the lowest 50 or so millibars in the atmosphere. It does not consider fuel moisture.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dixie Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
On Sunday the most active portions of the fire were:
- Northwest side as it continues to spread through Lassen Volcanic National Park.
- North-central, northeast of Chester and northwest of Westwood.
- Mountain Meadows Reservoir, to the west and northeast.
- West of Antelope Lake, where the fire has moved into the 2019 Walker Fire.
Damage assessments are ongoing on the Dixie Fire. To date the teams have documented as destroyed, 633 residences and 134 commercial structures. Maps are available showing the status of structures.
The fire has burned 569,000 acres.
Resources assigned to the incident include 569 fire engines, 194 water tenders, 89 hand crews, and 198 dozers for a total of 6,579 personnel.
