Smoke from wildfires will have serious impacts Thursday in California, Washington, and eastern Canada. The smoke forecast for 10 p.m. PDT is above.
The map below depicts the air quality at 7:26 a.m. PDT Aug. 19, 2021, by AirNow.
It has burned more than 62,000 acres 18 miles southwest of Lake Tahoe
Continue readingMore than 635,000 acres have burned
Continue readingA spot fire occurred five miles ahead
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This photo taken by the GOES 17 NASA satellite at 6:41 p.m. August 16 shows strong winds pushing smoke from the wildfires in California and Oregon to the east.
The fire has burned 569,000 acres in Northern California
Continue readingThreatens Westwood and Chester
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File photo of Blue Sky Helicopters HH-60L, N51BH. Photo by Blue Sky Helicopters.Napa County has joined the list of counties in California that own or contract for helicopters to assist firefighters on the ground by dropping water or transporting cargo.
The Napa Valley Register reported that the county awarded a contract to Blue Sky Helicopters for a Blackhawk. The Southern California based company operates HH-60L helicopters and has had contracts with the US Forest Service, Department of the Interior, Oregon Department of Forestry, Washington Department of Natural Resources, and CAL FIRE.
Napa County received several bids but selected Blue Sky and their $1.65 million offer.
CAL FIRE has been operating a CH-47D Chinook helicopter out of Napa County Airport, but it is subject to being assigned to fires in other parts of the state, as it was Tuesday. Napa wants the helicopter under the control of county Fire Chief Geoff Belyea to be sure it will primarily be available to protect property within the county.
In May the Napa Valley Register reported that a private organization’s offer to pay $1.5 million to help lease two single engine air tankers for the county was refused by CAL FIRE.
Other counties in California that have firefighting helicopters include Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura, Orange, Kern, and Santa Barbara.
Napa County has had more than their fair share of very destructive fires over the last several years.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom.
6:50 a.m. PDT August 12, 2021
An inversion remained over the Dixie Fire southwest of Susanville, California Wednesday and Wednesday night trapping the smoke and reducing visibility, but the blaze was still moderately active. Late in the afternoon fire in the Wilcox Valley 12 miles northeast of Greenville intensified, sending up a smoke column that broke through the inversion. The smoke above the inversion was then transported off to the northwest by upper level winds. Warm temperatures Wednesday night and minimal humidity recovery allowed the the fire to continue to spread.
A mapping flight late Wednesday night found that the fire had grown to 510,000 acres.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dixie Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
In an update, the Incident Management Team said in areas where the fire has been stopped the large fuels on the ground, such as logs and stumps, will require a significant amount of resources to mop up due to the volume of fuels and the steep, rugged terrain.
Aircraft initially working the fire Thursday morning will include 1 Very Large Air Tanker (DC-10), 2 Large Air Tankers, 2 Super Scoopers, 1 Lead Plane, 1 Air Attack aircraft, and approximately 20 helicopters.
Wednesday evening there were 6,133 personnel assigned to the incident, with 511 fire engines, 175 water tenders, 20 helicopters, 81 hand crews, and 198 dozers. The estimated suppression costs to date are $217 million. Nationwide there are over 25,000 personnel committed to wildland fires.
There is a chance Thursday for thunderstorms bringing very little rain with temperatures in the mid 90s to lower 100s and relative humidity in the lower teens. Winds will generally be out of the southwest in the afternoon with the exception of outflows generated by thunderstorms. The rest of the week should bring rising temperatures and dry conditions. Sustained southwest winds are expected to push the fire to the north and northeast.
He is being investigated for possible links to five fires
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