Kelly Andersson, Author at Wildfire Today

Park Fire rips across 125,000 acres in northern California

Kelly AnderssonJuly 25, 2024July 26, 2024Arson, WildfireBidwell Park, ChicoLeave a comment

The Park Fire off Upper Park Road in Upper Bidwell Park east of Chico is at 3 percent containment this evening, according to CAL FIRE, and is being run by CAL FIRE IMT 3 in unified command with the Lassen National Forest. Though the cause was earlier reported as under investigation, the Chico ER reported later today that investigators had arrested a Chico man suspected of igniting the fire.

07/26 FRI a.m. Park Fire burns to 164,286 acres, over 4,000 evacuated

The burned-out car that CAL FIRE investigators traced to the start of the Park Fire in Chico. The suspect is in Butte County Jail. ~ Butte County District Attorney's Office photo. — The burned-out car that CAL FIRE investigators traced to the start of the Park Fire in Chico. The suspect is in the Butte County Jail.
~ Butte County District Attorney’s Office photo.

The 42-year-old suspect is facing arson charges. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Thursday that investigators apprehended Ronnie Dean Stout, a twice-convicted felon and registered sex offender.

Investigators followed up on local reports of a man pushing “a car on fire” into a gully and down a 60-foot drop near Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park midafternoon on Wednesday. Ramsey said the guy was seen calmly leaving the area as the fire took off.

The fire spread from the car, which Ramsey said was Stout’s mother’s car, and grew 45,000 acres overnight; it was estimated Thursday afternoon at 75,000 acres.

It’s at 125,000 acres tonight burning in both Butte and Tehama counties; numerous firefighting airtankers from throughout the state are flying as conditions allow, along with over 1,100 personnel assigned, 6 helicopters, 41 dozers and 10 watertenders, 40 crews, and 153 engines.

A fire whirl was spotted at the Park Fire in the early evening hours of July 25, 2024.~ AlertCalifornia camera — A fire whirl was spotted at the Park Fire in the early evening hours of July 25, 2024.
~ AlertCalifornia Platte Mountain camera in Butte County ***Click photo to watch video***

A fire tornado ore fire vortex developed from the intensity of the fire on July 25. The time-lapse was captured by the ALERTCalifornia Platte Mtn 1 camera. The camera sensors can see 60-70 miles on a clear day and more than 120 miles on a clear night. Watch ALERTCalifornia’s more than 1,080 (as of July 2024) monitoring cameras live at cameras.alertcalifornia.org

The Park Fire was started at 3:00 p.m. yesterday and by 8:00 p.m. the IC had requested 30 strike teams of any type engines. (Holy immediate need Batman, 150 engines!)

PARK FIRE: View from Hamilton City about 7 p.m. July 25

CAL FIRE said the fire displayed dynamic fire activity overnight. Winds are definitely a factor and the temperatures are in the 80s. Three helicopters were available for night ops, and they spent the night finding hotspots to drop water on. CAL FIRE has a dandy photo collection on flickr, including timelapse images of the smoke at the fire’s origin.

Richardson Springs camera yesterday at 8 p.m.

~ Gracias and a big tip o’the hardhat to Pat for this …

Arizona fires burning south of Kearny

Kelly AnderssonJuly 20, 2024July 20, 2024WildfireAntelope Peak, Arizona, KearnyLeave a comment

Wildfires in Arizona are burning near the town of Kearny, about 90 miles southeast of Phoenix.

The Romero Fire is estimated at 3,500 acres, spreading west and north through grass and brush. It’s 13 miles southwest of Kearny and 22 miles northwest of Mammoth, according to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. There is as of Saturday afternoon zero containment.

Romero Fire, Arizona, east of Casa Grande

azcentral.com reported that another fire, the Circle Fire, has burned about 200 acres at the base of Antelope Peak southeast of Kearny. The fires are just north of the Freeman Fire, which burned 32,568 acres.

The Southwest Coordination Center (SWCC) reports that scattered to numerous wetting thunderstorms are predicted for the Mogollon Rim and parts of eastern Arizona. The region reported 17 new fires on July 19, with 1,517 recorded so far for 192,579 acres thus far in 2024.

The Southwest Region is at Preparedness Level 3.

about a mile

Eastern Canada wildfire evacuates thousands

Kelly AnderssonJuly 14, 2024July 14, 2024WildfireLabrador, Newfoundland, Scoopers2 Comments

A fire east of Québec in Newfoundland and Labrador has burned more than 24,000 acres and forced thousands to evacuate Labrador City. CNN reported that the “extremely aggressive inferno” was considered contained earlier this week, but weather changes on Friday blew the fire back to life and it spread rapidly. Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Andrew Furey said Saturday the fire had grown to 22,000 acres and had spread 13 miles in about four hours.

In a news conference on Sunday, Furey said weather conditions are favourable for firefighting. “We have some good news today. There is no significant growth in the size of the fire that is just northwest of Lab City,” he told reporters. The fire has burned through about 14,000 hectares (about 35,000 acres) to within four kilometres of the community — the same as Saturday.

Newfoundland and Labrador fires, ESRI map

Light rain, lower temperature and humidity, and northeast winds has kept the fire away from the town and burning onto itself.

Four water bombers are fighting on the eastern front of the fire. Six to eight are fighting on the western side from Quebec.

Around 9,500 people were evacuated from Labrador City, said Jeremy Reynolds with the provincial government. “A contingent of essential personnel have remained behind to oversee the emergency response,” he said.

The remoted town of Labrador City, in the northwestern part of the province, is about 900 miles north of Canada’s capital city of Ottawa.

A province-wide outdoor fire ban prohibiting setting of fires on forest land or within 300 metres of forest land is now in effect in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Significant firefighting resources are currently dedicated to wildfire suppression near the communities of Labrador West.

Updates on the location, status, and size of active fires can be viewed online at the NL Active Wildfire Dashboard.

Residents were told to evacuate to the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay – a six-hour drive away.

Eastern Oregon fire burns to 73,000 acres

Kelly AnderssonJuly 12, 2024July 12, 2024WildfireBLM, Brogan, Oregon, ValeLeave a comment

A new wildfire near the small Malheur County town of Brogan grew quickly to over 20,000 acres by Thursday evening, prompting closure of a 23-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 26 in eastern Oregon and evacuation alerts, along with call-up of two state structural-protection task forces, authorities said.

It’s burning on private and public lands 9 miles east of Ironside, and by this afternoon it was pushing 75,000 acres.

Cow Valley Fire, grew to about 20,000 acres Thursday, burning on both sides of U.S. Highway 26 — The Cow Valley Fire burned to about 20,000 acres Thursday, on both sides of U.S. Highway 26

KTVB-TV reported that crews are battling two fires near U.S. Highway 26 in eastern Oregon. The Cow Valley Fire and the Bonita Road Fire both started early Thursday morning.

Others include the nearly 14,000-acre Larch Creek Fire south of The Dalles in Wasco County, which is still without any containment, and the nearly 4,000-acre Salt Creek Fire in Jackson County, about 16 percent contained.

The Larch Creek Fire grew from just 100 acres Tuesday afternoon, overnight and the next day, and by Wednesday night it was pushing 11,000 acres, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. Zach Urness with the Statesman-Journal reported that the fire was at 13,816 acres Friday morning after more than 3,000 acres of growth overnight. The fire remains at zero percent containment, and Highway 216 east remains closed between milepost 1 and 4.

Thursday afternoon brought windy conditions to the area but fire behavior moderated overnight with lower temperatures and winds. Overnight crews worked closer to the active areas, building line and securing perimeters around Shadybrook Road and Highway 216.

“Today, air and ground crews will be active on all sides of the fire, building fire line, reinforcing existing line, and monitoring for hot spots. Structure protection will be focused on the community of Tygh Valley, Pine Hollow and Shadybrook subdivisions, and along Highway 216,

The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office has issued a Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation order from Friend Road, East to Elliott Road and Highway 197, South to Badger Creek Road, West to McCorkle Grade Road.

Residents of at least 41 homes were advised to evacuate. Several other areas are under Level 2 and Level 1 evacuation orders.

Check the latest evacuation maps from the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office

The area was under a Red Flag Warning for critical fire weather on Tuesday afternoon.

There are 22 large fires burning Oregon totaling over 145,277 acres, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.

Early afternoon Friday Vale District BLM said the Cow Valley Fire had burned over 73,720 acres. ODOT shared photos on TripCheck of the Cow Valley Fire yesterday.

KTVB in Boise reported 30-50 homes in Brogan are threatened, and power was shut down for customers at risk from powerlines close to the fire.

It was one of three large new area fires, along with the 4,500-acre Huntington Mutual Aid Fire in Baker County, which forced evacuations and alerts in the Huntington area and Farewell Bend State Park, and the 1,867-acre Bonita Road Fire, also in Malheur County, reported early Thursday morning.

The fire is moving toward Malheur Reservoir and is threatening 30 to 50 homes in the Brogan community. Malheur County Sheriff’s Office is advising residents to prepare for evacuation orders. At one point, 16 aircraft were assigned to the fire, dropping water and retardant, along with seven engines and four dozers plus crews from Vale and Burnt River RFPAs and Sand Hollow Fire District.

Thompson Fire burns in northern California

Kelly AnderssonJuly 3, 2024July 3, 2024WildfireButte County, firecuts and helicopter droppers, Oroville, Thompson FireLeave a comment

Thousands were ordered to evacuate in northern California ahead of a fire burning in Butte County, as an “exceptionally dangerous and lethal” heat wave in the West is building. Cal Fire reported that three firefighters suffered injuries on the fire and thousands of people were still evacuated early today near Oroville. Several others were injured today.

Soaring temperatures — forecasted to hold into next week – have parched the already-dry vegetation in the area.

The Mercury-News reported that the Thompson Fire has spread around Oroville Dam — the tallest dam in the United States — at one point burning on the dam itself.

Authorities initially evacuated more than 28,000 people from Oroville and neighboring communities in Butte County, and by Wednesday the fire had grown to almost 3600 acres with zero containment and temperatures well into the triple digits.

Thompson Fire evacuations -- Cal Fire map — Thompson Fire evacuations — Cal Fire map

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the fire area, according to CNN, bringing on additional suppression resources including the California National Guard.

The Mercury-News has a dandy photo gallery online; they reported that the Thompson Fire was one of a half dozen wildfires that started Tuesday in northern California and the Central Coast; it took off around 11 a.m. near Oroville.

More than 1,400 firefighters were working the fire, along with eight helicopters, 199 engines, and 46 bulldozers. Several large airtankers also were on the fire.

The town is about 20 miles south of Paradise, where the catastrophic Camp Fire killed more than 70 people in the 2018 disaster. The city of Oroville’s July 4 fireworks celebration was canceled by California State Parks on Wednesday.