Near-surface wildfire smoke forecast for 4 a.m. PDT August 3, 2020. NOAA HRRR-Smoke.
Smoke from southern California’s 20,000-acre Apple Fire is predicted to move north overnight Sunday. Monday morning it is expected to affect areas in areas of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho.
The map above created by NOAA is for near-surface smoke which can affect humans more than vertically integrated smoke higher in the atmosphere.
NOAA predicts that a new fire in north-central Oregon, the Fir Mountain Road Fire seven miles south-southeast of Hood River, will produce smoke that will move into eastern Oregon, southeast Washington, and eastern Idaho. The fire started Saturday night, and Sunday morning was estimated at 70 acres. It seems surprising that it could be generating such a large quantity of smoke, however it is burning in slash piles from recent logging, as well as adjacent standing timber.
Fir Mountain Road Fire. Oregon Department of Forestry photo August 2, 2020.
Air Tanker 15, a BAe-146, drops on the Apple Fire August 2, 2020. Screenshot from ABC7 video.
A television station in Los Angeles, ABC 7, has occasionally been live-streaming video shot from a helicopter over the Apple Fire. The station has posted on YouTube 68 minutes of video that was shot today, August 2. I did not have the time to watch all of it, but I jumped around sampling different segments and found it to be fascinating. The video is below, and I have included a few screenshots.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Apple Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
I am not sure (and someone correct me if I’m wrong) but I think in the photo below, the highest point on the left, the white barren area, is Mount San Gorgonio, the highest peak in Southern California and the Transverse Ranges at 11,503 feet.
Apple Fire, San Bernardino National Forest, August 2, 2020. Screenshot from ABC7 video.Air Tanker 914, a DC-10, drops on the Apple Fire August 2, 2020. Screenshot from ABC7 video.Apple Fire, San Bernardino National Forest, August 2, 2020; looking west across the San Gorgonio River. Screenshot from ABC7 video.Air Tanker 137, a B-737, drops on the Apple Fire August 2, 2020. Screenshot from ABC7 video.
Areas predicted to be affected Sunday include southeast California, northern Arizona, southern Utah, and parts of Colorado and New Mexico
August 2, 2020 | 9:30 a.m. PDT
Forecast by NOAA for the distribution of smoke created by the Apple Fire in southern California at 2 p.m. PDT August 2, 2020.
The Apple Fire north of Beaumont and Banning in southern California has been burning vigorously and creating a very large amount of smoke since it started at 5 p.m. July 31. The map above is a prediction by NOAA for the distribution of wildfire smoke at 2 p.m. PDT today, August 2. It predicts that areas significantly affected will include southeast California, northern Arizona, southern Utah, and parts of Colorado and New Mexico.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Apple Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
The size of the Apple Fire is uncertain because the north side of the fire could not be completely mapped at 8:30 p.m. Saturday by the fixed wing aircraft due to the very large convection column of smoke and heat over the fire. But the crew was able to map 15,000 acres of the blaze.
Satellite photo by GOES-17 of smoke created by the Apple Fire in southern California at 7 a.m. PDT August 2, 2020. NASA.
The fire has burned 20,516 acres in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties
August 2, 2020 | Updated at 11:21 a.m. PDT
3-D map of the Apple Fire, showing the perimeter at 8:30 p.m. PDT August 1, 2020. The north side of the fire could not be completely mapped at that time by the fixed wing aircraft due to the convection column over the fire.
The Apple Fire north of Beaumont and Banning in southern California was very active Saturday afternoon and continued to spread well into the night. A fixed wing aircraft attempted to map the fire at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and was not able to completely gather intelligence on the north side due to a vigorous convection column of smoke and heat in that area. The crew on the aircraft was able to confirm that at least 15,000 acres had burned at that time. That was updated by the incident management team at about 10 a.m. PDT to 20,516 acres.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Apple Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
Several evacuation orders are in effect for the Apple Fire. Visit the Riverside County website to see a map of the evacuation areas or to determine if your address is affected.
The wind Saturday and Saturday night was consistent, blowing from the west at 11 to 14 mph and gusting to 18 mph. Combined with the steep south-facing slopes, the fire spread uphill north toward San Gorgonio Mountain and east parallel with Interstate 10 north of Banning.
The red line was the perimeter of the Apple Fire mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at 8:30 p.m. PDT August 1, 2020. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:48 a.m. PDT August 2, 2020. The north side of the fire could not be completely mapped by the fixed wing aircraft due to the convection column of smoke and heat over the fire.
The Apple Fire is well established east of the San Gorgonio River. Approximately 80 percent of the fire is in the San Bernardino National Forest and a portion of the southeast perimeter has spread into the Morongo Reservation. The remainder is on land protected by the state and the counties of Riverside and San Bernardino.
A Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered to assume command of the fire.
Current resources on the fire include 20 hand-crews, 6 helicopters, 178 fire engines, and 19 water tenders. A variable number of air tankers are available to the fire as well, depending on other wildfire activity. There are also a number of unfilled resource orders, and some are responding that are not yet on-scene.
The incident management team expects fire activity to remain high Sunday.
The weather forecast for the Cherry Valley area on Sunday is for 95 degrees, 10 to 15 percent relative humidity, and afternoon winds from the west at 4 to 7 mph gusting to 12 mph, with ridgetop speeds of 15 to 20 mph. Firefighters would not consider these conditions extreme, but they could indicate weather conducive to additional fire spread.
Apple Fire, looking northeast from Elsinore Mountain at 1:26 a.m. August 2, 2020. Via @CAFireScanner.Apple Fire August 1, 2020, from Noble Creek Park, Beaumont, CA. US Forest Service photo by Zach Behrens.
Saturday morning the fire was mapped at 1,900 acres
UPDATED at 4:26 p.m. PDT August 1, 2020
The map below shows heat detected on the Apple Fire by a satellite at 12:48 p.m. PDT August 1. On Saturday the fire has been moving to the north and east and by 3:30 p.m. had spread past the Oak Glen Conservation Camp.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Apple Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
The map shows heat detected on the Apple Fire by a satellite at 12:48 p.m. PDT August 1, 2020. The red arrows were added by Wildfire Today.
UPDATED at 3:31 p.m. PDT August 1, 2020
Apple Fire at 2:13 p.m. August 1, 2020. Toro Peak looking northeast.
The Apple fire has been very active in the early afternoon Saturday, spreading up the slope at least two miles over the last 12 hours, surrounding CAL FIRE’s Oak Glen Conservation Camp #35. The 40 acre site built in 1949 for housing and training up to seven inmate fire crews is the largest state facility of its kind.
The red arrows on the map indicate the spread of the Apple Fire Saturday afternoon, August 1, 2020.Apple Fire, DC-10 air tanker dropping near the Oak Glen Conservation Camp. Screenshot from ABC7 video.
CAL FIRE/Riverside County reported at 3 p.m. Saturday the Apple Fire has burned 4,125 acres.
Firefighters have ordered additional large and very large air tankers including two DC-10s and the 747. Additional strike teams of engines, dozers, and crews have also been requested.
Apple Fire at 2:13 p.m. August 1, 2020. Reche Peak looking southeast.
The weather conditions are not in favor of the firefighters. At 2:13 p.m. Saturday a weather station at Banning recorded winds out of the west at 10 mph gusting to 22, temperature of 99 degrees, and relative humidity of 9 percent.
(Originally published at 10:32 p.m. PDT August 1, 2020)
3-D map of the Apple, approximate location, based on heat detected by a satellite at 3:06 a.m. PDT Aug 1, 2020. Not to be used for planning purposes.
At about 5 p.m. Friday when firefighters arrived at what is now the Apple Fire north of Beaumont, California in Cherry Valley, they found at least two separate fires burning along Oak Glen Road. Saturday it has grown into a 1,900-acre blaze that has prompted evacuations and has destroyed at least one home and two outbuildings.
CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire is in Unified Command with the U.S. Forest Service, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, and California Highway Patrol.
The fire is burning between Oak Glen Road on the west and Bluff Street on the east. It is about three miles south of Oak Glen.
Apple Fire August 1, 2020. @Captain2500agl
Resources working on the fire Saturday morning include 5 helicopters, 43 fire engines, 10 hand crews, 3 water tenders, and 3 dozers, for a total of 375 personnel. Large and very large air tankers are busy over the fire this morning.
Map showing heat detected on the Apple Fire by a satellite at 3:06 a.m. PDT Aug 1, 2020.Apple Fire, from Reche Peak at 9:45 a.m. PDT August 1, 2020.
