The fire has burned more than 117,000 acres at Paradise, California east of Chico.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has released a map that shows the status of structures affected by the Camp Fire. The blaze has burned more than 117,000 acres at Paradise, California east of Chico.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Camp Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
The data is work in progress and not all areas have been surveyed for damage. The information from the field inspections is subject to change. It appears that the data is not restricted to just structures in Paradise, CA.
To see the map, click above on the “Terms” and then “OK”. After you read the Information, you may want to click on the “X” to remove the box that covers half of the screen.
If the map above fails to work, an alternative is to view it here.
The legend for the map is below:
CAL FIRE reports that 6,453 residences and 260 commercial structures have been destroyed in the Camp Fire.
Congratulations to ESRI and CAL FIRE for developing and releasing this useful tool.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Camp Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
(Originally published at 8:48 a.m. PST November 12, 2018)
The town of Paradise, California has released a partial list of structures that have been destroyed or at least 50 percent damaged in the Camp Fire. The surveys to assess the damage are ongoing and so far the list only covers 695 structures. The official estimate is that 6,453 homes have burned.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Camp Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
As of Sunday afternoon the Butte County Sheriffs’ Office had confirmed 29 fatalities in the burned area, while 228 people are still considered missing and unaccounted for. Some of the missing could be in shelters or no longer have cell phones. More than 100 were removed from the list after they were found.
The Sheriff’s Office has set up phone lines for a Missing Persons Call Center where the public can provide and receive information about missing individuals.
The numbers are:
530-538-6570
530-538-7544
530-538-7671
The Camp Fire was very active on the east side Sunday, spreading for over two miles east of Concow and spotting across the north end of Lake Oroville. The east side was less active, but still added about 1,000 acres southwest of Magalia.
CAL FIRE is reporting that the fire has burned 113,000 acres, but the agency often intentionally under-reports the size of large fires by 10 to 15 percent.
The homes of at least 53 firefighters burned in the Camp Fire, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. The organization set up a disaster relief center for firefighters in Chico and so far have helped more than a dozen emergency responders.
Pacific Gas & Electric disclosed to the Public Utilities Commission that one of their high voltage power lines had a disruption in service on Pulga Road near the Camp Fire at 6:15 a.m. the day it started, November 8. The fire was reported at 6:29 a.m. In the following days the stock price plunged 33 percent.
The Red Flag Warnings in Central and Northern California expire Monday morning. In Southern California south of Santa Barbara they are in effect until 5 p.m. Tuesday for 20-35 mph winds gusting to 55, and, 3 to 10% relative humidity.
(Originally published at 7:27 a.m. PST November 11, 2018)
The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings for much of California, predicting strong winds and low humidities that could spread existing wildfires and force new ignitions to grow quickly.
The warnings in the central and northern part of the state expire Sunday night or early Monday morning. The details vary a bit from location to location, but the forecasters expect north to east winds at 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 40 to 50 with 5 to 10 percent humidities.
In Southern California the warnings are in effect Sunday through Tuesday for northeast winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts at 45 to 55, along with single digit relative humidities. There will be little humidity recovery during the night during this period. The strongest winds will be Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The fire burned from Simi Valley south to the beach at Malibu in Southern California
(Originally published at 7 a.m. PST November 11, 2018)
The spread of the Woolsey Fire was not as extreme Saturday as it was Thursday and Friday, but it was still active in the Malibu area, on the east side along Las Virgenes Road, and on the west side near Yerba Buena Road.
Saturday evening fire officials said 177 structures have been destroyed.
(To see all articles about the Woolsey Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click here.)
Friday night the L.A. County Coroner confirmed that two people were found deceased, severely burned in a vehicle. Those are the only fatalities confirmed so far, which is a much lower number than the 23 fatalities discovered on the Camp Fire at Paradise in Northern California.
A mapping flight Saturday determined that the fire has burned 96,030 acres.
More than 200,000 residents are under evacuation orders.
With so much active fire and little containment, firefighters will be challenged to keep the fire from growing while a Red Flag Warning is in effect Sunday through Tuesday. Forecasters expect northeast winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts at 45 to 55, along with single digit relative humidities. There will be little humidity recovery during the night during this period. The strongest winds will be Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The greatest threat from these winds will be the southwest side of the fire, south of Newbury Park and Hidden Valley and east of NAS Point Mugu.
(Originally published at 9:01 a.m. PST November 10, 2018)
President Trump is in France but early Saturday morning he weighed in on Twitter with commentary about the wildfires in California that this week have killed nine people, destroyed over 6,000 residences, burned more than 190,000 acres, and 200,000 people have been forced from their homes.
There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!
The Camp and Woolsey Fires both burned during very strong wind events — so extreme that air tankers and helicopters could not assist firefighters on the ground. Because of the immediate threat to the local populations, wildland firefighters had to abandon attempting to suppress the fires, and switched to saving lives.
As noted below by former firefighter James Sinko who is now with The Weather Channel, the area of the Camp Fire has had only 0.14 inch of precipitation since the first of June, and 0.88 since May 1.
Paradise, CA has only seen 0.88″ of rain since May 1st. The Average rainfall between May 1st & Oct 31st is 7.13″! This is the conditions that have lead to a absolutely horrific fire known as the #CampFire #CAwx #CalFire #CaliforniaFirespic.twitter.com/CcvsMeogNq
And on a more lighthearted note, check out the contribution below of Mr. Duhnkrack. You’ll need to click on the photo once or maybe twice to see the entire image.
At one point in history, we had a Republican President who – through a little experience – vaguely understood protecting homes from wildfire. pic.twitter.com/jjK8tRyU7C
— Jesse Duhnkrack (@jduhnkrack) November 10, 2018
Mr. Nixon was wetting down his shake shingle roof as a wildfire burned near his San Clemente, California home.