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Wildfire Today

Tag: California

Additional evacuations ordered for Kincade Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , ,

While rescuing two civilians a firefighter used a fire shelter as a shield

Above: Looking east at 4:40 p.m. October 25 the camera at Geyser Peak photographed a large flare up on the Kincade Fire.

UPDATED at 7:37 p.m. PDT October 26, 2019

New evacuation orders and warnings have been issued for the Kincade Fire. Details are at the Sonoma County web site. Winds gusting to over 60 mph hour are in the forecast for the Kincade Fire area after 11 p.m. Saturday. This is a very serious situation and anyone in the identified areas needs to leave.

One of the more active areas on the fire Saturday was on the east side near Pine Flat Road, the same general location as the flareup Friday.

Saturday afternoon officials said 31 homes and 46 other structures have been destroyed.

Four Very Large Air Tankers were working the Kincade Fire Saturday afternoon preparing for the very strong wind later tonight: Tankers 910, 911, 914, and 944 — three DC-10s and the 747. Several other air tankers and helicopters were also engaged.

Below is the National Weather Service forecast for wind in the Kincade Fire area. The wind barbs point to the direction the wind will be from, in this case, after 7 p.m. north-northeast or northeast through Monday morning. The upper line represents wind gusts.

Wind Forecast Kincade Fire
Wind forecast, Kincade Fire Area, beginning Saturday October 26. Click to enlarge.

7:45 a.m. PDT October 26, 2019

Friday afternoon the Kincade Fire east of Geyserville, California consumed about 4,000 more acres as winds that shifted 180 degrees, twice, pushed it in various directions. At the Healdsburg Hills North weather station the wind in the morning was from the north until 11 a.m. when it became out of the south at 7 to 15 mph gusting at 10 to 24 mph. Then between 5 and 6:30 p.m. it made a slow direction change to north at 12 to 15 gusting at 15 to 26. This resulted in the fire spreading on the north and east sides. As of Saturday morning it has burned 25,455 acres.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Kincade Fire, including the most recent, click here.)

New evacuation orders were issued overnight. The map maintained by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office can be accessed here.

CAL FIRE confirmed that a firefighter and two civilians were transported to a hospital by ground ambulance to be evaluated after an incident within the incident. At approximately 6:20 p.m. Friday a firefighter was helping get two civilians to safety who were attempting to evacuate as the fire activity intensified. The firefighter deployed his fire shelter to shield them from the fire. All injuries appear to be non-life threatening.

Map Kincade Fire
Map of the Kincade Fire showing the perimeter at 11:17 p.m. October 25, 2019.

The light wind predicted for Saturday is not expected to be a major factor on the fire, but beginning at 11 p.m. it will increase through the rest of the night to 33 mph gusting out of the northeast at 60. It should decrease on Sunday afternoon to 17 mph with gusts around 30.

The Healdsburg Hills North weather station is operated by Pacific Gas and Electric and judging from the coordinates appears to be mounted on a high voltage transmission tower. That location on the east side of the fire (see map) was burned over Friday afternoon between 6:20 and 6:30 p.m. Within a 20-minute period the recorded temperature increased from 80 to 114 degrees, then by 7:30 p.m. it was back to 80 degrees.

Weather observations Kincade Fire
Weather observations at the Healdsburg Hills North weather station October 25, 2018 as the site was burned over by the Kincade Fire.

CAL FIRE reports that 79 structures have been destroyed.

Resources assigned to the Kincade Fire include 53 hand crews, 179 engines, 24 water tenders, 24 dozers, and 10 helicopters for a total of 2,090 personnel.

Firefighters assist disabled woman at Tick Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , 2 Comments on Firefighters assist disabled woman at Tick Fire

firefighters assist disabled woman Tick Fire California

Long time fire photographer Jeff Zimmerman sent us these photos he shot Thursday at the Tick Fire near Santa Clarita in southern California.

Here is his description:

“As flames swept out of Tick Canyon into the Shadow Pines neighborhood in Los Angeles County, it became a race against time to evacuate a disabled woman who was trying to save her home. Barefoot and with a walker, we found this woman frantically trying to save her home with a garden hose. We pulled out our booster line from our volunteer fire patrol to stop spot fires on neighboring property as ash and soot were raining down on her vehicle. We had just minutes to get her shoes, her dog and get her loaded into her vehicle. She was crying hysterically but we were able to get her to safety as fire swept down the street.

“At great personal risk Volunteer Denise Shippy went inside her home to retrieve car keys, shoes and the family dog as I was able to hold back spot fires. Flames erupted across the street in Italian Cypress trees as this woman left to safety. Helping a neighbor in distress is what volunteering is all about.”

firefighters assist disabled woman Tick Fire California firefighters assist disabled woman Tick Fire California firefighters assist disabled woman Tick Fire California

Three large fires are very active in Mexico

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , , 3 Comments on Three large fires are very active in Mexico

The fires are south and southeast of San Diego, California

fires in northwest Mexico ,a[
Map showing heat from fires in northwest Mexico detected by a satellite at 4:24 a.m. PDT Oct. 25, 2019.
Several large fires in northwest Mexico south of San Diego are producing large quantities of smoke. For the time being most of it is being blown over the Pacific Ocean.

One of the fires is west of Tijuana, another is northwest of Ensenada, and the third is south of Tecate.

Smoke from the Tick Fire at Santa Clarita is expected to affect Oxnard and western Los Angeles.

smoke wildfire southern California and northwest Mexico.
Forecast for vertically integrated smoke at 5 p.m. PDT Oct. 25, 2019 from wildfires in southern California and northwest Mexico.

Tick Fire crosses the 14 freeway forcing more evacuations

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags ,
Map Tick Fire 9 p.m. PDT October 24, 2019.
Map of the Tick Fire at 9 p.m. PDT October 24, 2019 before it burned across the 14 freeway. LA County FD.

UPDATED at 9:23 a.m. PDT Oct. 25, 2019

The Los Angeles County Fire Department reported at 7 a.m. PDT Oct. 25 that the Tick Fire at Santa Clarita had burned approximately 4,300 acres including the portion that spread to the south across the 14 freeway overnight, forcing the closure of the road.

At 9:20 a.m. Friday the fire activity had decreased significantly and very little additional spreading was occurring.

About 574 firefighting personnel are assigned to the fire from all over the state. Damage assessment teams have started documenting the structures that have been destroyed or damaged.

Approximately 40,000 residents are under evacuation orders. Officials are working to identify areas that can be repopulated safely.

6:33 a.m. PDT October 25, 2019

The Tick Fire near Santa Clarita jumped across the 14 freeway at about 2:30 Friday morning, requiring it to be closed in both directions between Golden Valley and Escondido Canyon. Additional evacuations have been ordered. The map above shows the perimeter at 9 p.m. October 24 before it crossed the freeway.

At 9 p.m. on Thursday the Tick Fire had burned 3,739 acres, but the growth of the fire to the south and across the freeway during the night may have added another 500 to 1,000 acres.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Tick Fire, including the most recent, click here.)

The Santa Ana winds are expected to continue Friday, gusting across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties at 40 to 65 mph. Wind speeds of 33 mph gusting to 54  were recorded at the Warm Springs weather station northeast of Castaic overnight.

The Tick Fire spread rapidly north of Los Angeles Thursday afternoon

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags ,

The Tick, Old, and Verde fires were being pushed by strong winds

LOCATIONS of the Tick, Verde, and Old Fires
Map shows the APPROXIMATE LOCATIONS of the Tick, Verde, and Old Fires north of Los Angeles. This map should not be used for planning or evacuation purposes. Click to enlarge.

6:16 p.m. PDT October 24, 2019

At least three wildfires were actively spreading on the north side of Los Angeles in Santa Clarita’s Canyon Country Thursday afternoon. At 5:35 the Los Angeles County Fire Department said the largest of the three, the Tick Fire, had burned 3,000 acres. (see map above) By 5:45 p.m. the fires were not spreading as quickly as they were three hours before.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Tick Fire, including the one posted at 6:33 a.m. Oct. 25, click here.)

TV news helicopters have shown images of burning homes. Wind-blown embers have started spot fires long distances ahead of the main fire.  Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for residents in some locations both north and south of the 14 freeway.

Early Thursday afternoon the Saugus weather station  recorded winds out of the north-northeast of 18 to 26 mph gusting at 32 to 48. The temperature was 83 degrees with 4 percent humidity. By 5:45 p.m. the wind had slowed to 14 mph gusting to 28, still out of the north-northeast. The humidity was 4 percent.

Two other blazes, the Old and Verde Fires, are also being suppressed in the Castaic area west of Interstate 5. The Verde Fire was stopped after it burned one acre and four travel trailers. The Old Fire required the northbound lanes of Interstate 8 to be shut down. Its name was changed to Tick Branch 10.

Kincade Fire forces evacuation of Geyserville, California

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 4 Comments on Kincade Fire forces evacuation of Geyserville, California

New mapping shows the fire has burned 19,529 acres

UPDATED at 5:56 p.m. PDT October 25, 2019

The Kincade Fire was active Friday afternoon, and became more so after 3 p.m., sending up a very large column of smoke.

There are reports that during that period of enhanced activity Friday afternoon several firefighters and civilians took refuge in fire shelters that were deployed. Radio conversations indicated that it took place on Pine Flat Road on the east side of the fire. A number of ground and air ambulances were dispatched to the scene but apparently there were no injuries. This is all preliminary information and could change. It is not confirmed by CAL FIRE.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Kincade Fire, including the most recent, click here.)

Satellite photo smoke Kincade Fire
Satellite photo of smoke from the Kincade Fire at 4:40 p.m. PDT Oct. 25.

UPDATED at 11:26 a.m. PDT October 25, 2019

3-D map Kincade Fire 11:58 p.m. October 24, 2019
3-D map of the Kincade Fire showing the perimeter at 11:58 p.m. October 24, 2019. The orange shaded areas indicate intense heat. Looking north. Click to enlarge.

CAL FIRE reports that the Kincade Fire east of Geyserville in northern California has blackened 21,900 acres and destroyed 49 structures. About 735 structures are still threatened.

Evacuations have been ordered for about 2,000 people, including the entire town of Geyserville. All roads east of Highway 101 in the Geyserville area are closed.

From ABC7:

A CAL FIRE incident commander says the fire started near the Geysers Geothermal Plant, but they don’t know if the plant had anything to do with it. Firefighters also said they do not know if the PG&E power shutoff was in effect in the area at the time the blaze started.

According to a report filled by PG&E, they became aware of “Transmission level” outages on their Geysers line. On site CAL FIRE personnel brought to PG&E’s crew’s attention what appeared to be a broken jumper on the same tower.

map Kincade Fire 11:58 p.m. October 24, 2019
Map of the Kincade Fire showing the perimeter at 11:58 p.m. October 24, 2019. The orange shaded areas indicate intense heat.

Resources assigned to the fire include 77 fire engines, 10 water tenders, 12 helicopters, 38 hand crews, and 32 dozers for a total of 1,283 personnel.

UPDATED at 11:14 a.m. PDT October 24, 2019

map Kincade Fire
Map showing heat on the Kincade Fire detected by a satellite at 3:42 a.m. PDT Oct. 24, 2019. Click to enlarge.

Weather forecasters expect the strong north-northeast winds pushing the Kincade Fire to slowly decrease by midday and through the afternoon. Afternoon highs will be near record levels in the low 90s. Humidity values will remain critically low in the single digits even with light offshore winds later this afternoon. North winds at 5 to 10 mph will continue Thursday night and Friday.

A stronger offshore wind event will arrive Saturday night into Sunday with damaging winds and critical fire weather conditions.

9:18 a.m. PDT October 24, 2019

The Kincade Fire, first reported at 9:27 Wednesday night northeast of Geyserville, California has forced the evacuation of the entire town with a population of about 862 people. At 4 a.m. Thursday CAL FIRE estimated the fire had burned about 10,000 acres.

The fire is 63 miles north of San Francisco.

The rapidly spreading fire is being pushed by strong north-northeast winds with sustained speeds of 45 to 60 mph with a maximum gust of 76 mph at the Healdsburg Hills North weather station. Overnight the humidity has been in the low teens with temperatures around 70.

Some structures have burned but the number is unknown. The Press Democrat reported that spot fires were starting far ahead of the main fire:

Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman said an ember was thrown about a mile from the fire front onto a home off Red Winery Road that was destroyed.

The Sonoma County Sheriff sent an alert at 6:23 a.m. Thursday announcing the immediate evacuation of Geyserville, saying the Kincade Fire had crossed Highway 128 near Moody Lane and was heading west. Earlier homes were evacuated in several areas east of Geyserville.  Evacuation centers were established at Healdsburg Community Center and Windsor High School.

There is a report that the fire started near one of the geothermal power plants.

The photos below were taken by the Alert Wildfire network at around 7:54 a.m. PDT October 24.

Kincade Fire
Pepperwood East cam.
Kincade Fire
St. Helena cam.
Kincade Fire
Geyser Peak cam.