The AlertWildfire camera on Indian Ridge photographed the Fly Fire Saturday afternoon as it spread vigorously toward its location. The camera is north of the community of Keddie and northwest of Mt. Hough and Crystal Lake.
These first four pictures were shot during a five-minute period, 2:22 p.m. to 2:26 p.m. on July 24, 2021.
Judging from the photo below taken from the same camera almost two hours later at 4:10 p.m., the camera survived but the lens needs a little cleaning.
Fly Fire as seen from Indian Ridge at 4:10 p.m. PDT July 24, 2021. AlertWildfire.
The Fly Fire was reported Thursday, July 22 near Keddie in Butterfly Valley about four miles north of Quincy. At first there was a question whether it was a spot fire from the Dixie Fire several miles away, or if it was unrelated. A fire behavior analysis determined the spot fire option was unlikely, but at times this year the behaviors of wildfires are off the charts. Regardless, the cause is being investigated and it is being suppressed by the Dixie Fire Incident Management Team. As of early Saturday morning it had burned more than 4,000 acres.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dixie Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
The Fly Fire is in the lower-right section of the map below.
Map of the Dixie Fire. The white line was the perimeter at 2:30 a.m. PDT July 24, 2021. The green line was the perimeter about 24 hours before. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 4:00 a.m. PDT July 24, 2021.
Map of the Dixie Fire. The white line was the perimeter at 2:30 a.m. PDT July 24, 2021. The green line was the perimeter about 24 hours before. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 4:00 a.m. PDT July 24, 2021.
The Dixie Fire, six air miles south of Chester, California, was very active Friday, but not as much as on Thursday due to a decrease in wind speeds. While it still created convection columns of smoke topped by white pyrocumulus clouds, they were not as large and the fire did not increase in size as much as in previous days, but it still grew by tens of thousands of acres, expanding to 181,289 acres by Saturday morning.
The east side near Caribou, Twain, and Paxton, as well as the nearby Fly Fire at Kiddie, spread one to two miles further east. The Fly Fire is a new fire that started Thursday.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dixie Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
Wednesday night firefighters began a firing operation north of the fire to create a burned area south of Lake Almanor intended to stop the northward progress of the fire. They are working from a road system south of and parallel with Highway 89, starting from Canyondam working west and then plan to circle around the northwest side of the fire toward Butte Meadows. The prescription for the firing calls for it to be done at night, conditions that make it easier for firefighters to control the fire intensity. This is similar to conducting a prescribed fire. By early Saturday morning crews had initiated firing along approximately nine miles of roads, working toward the west-northwest. The project can be seen on the map above, appearing as a strip of white lines south of Highway 89.
Dozer assisting firefighters on a firing operation, July 22, 2021. InciWeb.
The fire has been split into two zones organizationally, East and West, each with its own Incident Management Team.
The weather forecast for Saturday calls for warmer and drier conditions with relative humidities in the upper single digits and temperatures ranging from 80 to 100 degrees depending on the elevation. Wind speeds will be in the 10 to 15 mph range. The very low humidity, high temperatures, and wind, combined with the very low fuel moistures will present difficult conditions for firefighters.
4:56 p.m. PDT July 23, 2021
Dixie Fire map. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:30 a.m. PDT July 23, 2021. The white line was the perimeter 6 to 18 hours earlier.
The 143,000-acre Dixie Fire south of Chester, California was extremely active Friday afternoon, at times creating multiple smoke columns topped with pyrocumulus clouds. The growth on Thursday and Friday has been described as explosive.
The fire is being fought by 70 hand crews, 355 engines, and 31 helicopters for a total of 4,005 personnel.
The Dixie Fire smoke columns were detected by radar at 5:31 p.m. PDT July 23, 2021.
Thursday evening the Dixie Fire was 6 air miles south of Chester, 14 miles northeast of Paradise, and 25 miles northeast of Oroville. A new fire nearby, the Fly Fire, was 4 miles north of Quincy.
The Dixie Fire as seen from Sloat Mountain, looking northwest at 3:56 p.m. PDT July 23, 2021.
Below is a summary of the evacuation notices published by Plumas County at 1 p.m. PDT July 23, 2021. Keep in mind it is a very dynamic situation and changes occur frequently.
Continues to spread north and east, 8 miles south of the Chester Airport
Updated at 9:39 a.m. PDT July 22, 2021
Map of the Dixie Fire. The white line was the perimeter at the end of the day on July 21. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:48 a.m. July 22, 2021.
The Dixie Fire in Northern California burned up to the Butt Valley Reservoir and grew closer to Highway 89. A mapping flight Wednesday night found that it was 5 miles southwest of Lake Almanor, 8 miles south of the Chester Airport, and was still 13 miles northeast of Paradise.
We have two maps of the Dixie Fire today. The wide view or vicinity map, is above, and below is a zoomed-in version, plus a satellite photo.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dixie Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
CAL FIRE said Thursday morning that it has burned 103,910 acres, an increase of about 12,000 acres in 24 hours. Strong winds Wednesday night helped keep the fire active. The agency’s website for fire information was down for a while at 8:51 a.m. Wednesday but was back up later.
Satellite photo of smoke from the Dixie Fire at 6:46 p.m. July 21, 2021. NASA, GOES 17.
Eight structures have been destroyed. Resources assigned Wednesday evening including 22 helicopters, 337 engines, 83 dozers, 55 water tenders, and 71 crews for a total of 3,919 personnel.
Map of the Dixie Fire. The white line was the perimeter at the end of the day on July 21. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:48 a.m. July 22, 2021.
Map of the Dixie Fire. The white line was the perimeter July 19. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3 p.m. PDT July 20, 2021.
The Dixie Fire 13 air miles northeast of Paradise, California was very active again Tuesday afternoon. The convection column of smoke did not reach the towering heights seen in previous days, probably because the 15 to 20 mph winds recorded at Flea Mountain gusting between 20 and 28 mph mitigated massive vertical development, blowing the smoke rapidly off to the northeast.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dixie Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
A satellite overflight at 3 p.m. (see the map above) showed large amounts of heat on the north and northeast sides — north and south of Highway 70. At that time the fire was moving closer to the communities of Twain, Caribou, and Paxton.
Satellite photo, Dixie and Tamarack Fires at 6:26 p.m. PDT July 20, 2021.Dixie Fire as seen from Bald Mountain, looking NE at 1:23 p.m. PDT July 20, 2021. AlertWildfire.
2:23 p.m. PDT July 20, 2021
Firefighters on the Dixie Fire. Strike Team 9163G looking at a very impressive pyrocumulus cloud, July, 2021. CAL FIRE photo.
The Dixie Fire grew by tens of thousands of acres Monday, reaching 59,984 acres by the end of the day. It now stretches for about 15 miles along the Feather River Canyon and Highway 70, an area known for its steep, barely accessible terrain.
The fire is burning on both sides of the canyon, an area where firefighters have in the past had problems with radio communication caused by the steep slopes.
It is moving to the north and northeast during the day. After sunset Monday, down-canyon winds brought smoke to lower elevations south and southwest of the fire.
Satellite Photo showing smoke from the Dixie Fire 12:31 p.m. PDT July 20, 2021. NOAA GOES 17.
Evacuation orders are in effect for some areas in Plumas and Butte Counties. A map is available, and CAL FIRE has other evacuation information.
Resources assigned Tuesday morning included 63 hand crews, 23 helicopters, 141 engines, 49 dozers, and 29 water tenders for a total of 2,409 personnel.
The fire has burned very close to communities in Feather River Canyon, including Dixie, Tobin , Belden, Storrie, Rock Creek, and Rodgers Flat. There are reports that at least two structures have been destroyed, but CAL FIRE has not released any information on the topic since the fire started on July 14. Other towns north and northeast of the fire are Caribou, Twain, Paxton, Crescent Mills, and Greenville. Monday night Lake Almanor was about 9 miles northeast of the head of the fire.
Map of the Dixie Fire, showing the location at the end of the day on July 19, 2021. CAL FIRE.
The image below shows a sample of the aircraft that were working on the fire at 1:13 p.m. PDT July 20, 2021. The fire is at upper-right, and the Chico Airport, where some air tankers are reloading, is at lower-left. Others not seen were flying south to reload at Sacramento McClellan Airport. Observed at this point in time were several helicopters, an MD87, a BAe-146, two S-2Ts, air attack aircraft, and two military C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems.
Some of the aircraft on the Dixie Fire at 1:13 p.m. PDT July 20, 2021. Flight Radar 24.
The fire has burned more than 30,000 acres 25 miles north of Oroville, California
4:08 p.m. PDT July 19, 2021
Dixie Fire 3-D map July 18, 2021.
In a report to the California Public Utilities Commission, Pacific Gas and Electric explains that on July 13 the company’s equipment may have ignited the Dixie Fire which has burned more than 30,000 acres along Highway 70. The fire is 25 miles north of Oroville. It has burned over or around the communities of Dixie, Merlin, Rock Creek, Storrie, Tobin, and Belden. Remarkably, CAL FIRE has not reported any burned structures, but says 810 are threatened.
PG&E said that at 7 a.m. on July 13 their system detected a loss of power in Feather River Canyon. From a distance their troubleman could see what looked like a blown fuse on a 12 kV power line. Because of challenging terrain and a closed bridge, the report said, another 9 hours and 40 minutes elapsed before he could access the site. He found that two fuses were blown and a live tree was leaning onto the power line. There was a fire on the ground near the base of the tree.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dixie Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
At that time the company called 911 to report the fire. The operator said they were aware of the fire and units were responding.
The Dixie Fire has burned 14 miles northeast through Feather River Canyon and stretches 5 miles northwest from the river.
Map of the Dixie Fire. The white line was the perimeter July 18. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:54 a.m. PDT July 19, 2021.
The fire was very active Saturday and Sunday moving to the east and north, becoming well established on the southeast side of the Feather River, mirroring what was happening on the other side of the canyon.
Firefighters are constructing direct fire lines to stop the spread and are building indirect contingency lines to protect the communities at risk. Much of the fire is in steep terrain.
Evacuation orders are in effect for some areas in Plumas and Butte Counties. A map is available, and CAL FIRE has other evacuation information.
Dixie Fire as seen from Jarbo Gap, looking northeast at 4:04 p.m. PDT July 19, 2021.
Resources assigned to the Dixie Fire Monday morning included 54 hand crews, 17 helicopters, 110 engines, 29 dozers, and 19 water tenders for a total of 1,918 personnel.
Below is very impressive video of pyrocumulus (the white cloud) forming over the intensely burning Dixie Fire Sunday afternoon.
Map of the Dixie Fire. The white line was the approximate perimeter at 6 p.m. PDT July 16, 2021. The yellow line was the perimeter about 24 hours before. The red areas represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:42 a.m. PDT July 17, 2021. To see a wider zoomed-out view of the area, scroll down.
The updated map of the Dixie Fire west of the Feather River in Northern California shows that it spread northeast for two to three miles Friday and Friday night. At 9:35 p.m. Friday CAL FIRE reported that it had burned 8,754 acres, but it may have grown for another 1,000 acres or so.
The weather forecast for the fire area Saturday afternoon calls for sunny skies and 92 degrees, 10 to 13 mph southwest winds, and relative humidity in the mid-teens. Sunday will look about the same but with partly cloudy skies in the afternoon and a chance of thundershowers in the evening.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dixie Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
Dixie Fire as seen from Bald Mountain, looking east at 7:13 a.m. PDT July 17, 2021.
The Dixie Fire is west of Highway 70 in Feather River Canyon, 13 air miles northeast of Paradise and 24 miles north-northeast of Oroville.
6:42 p.m. PDT July 16, 2021
Map of the Dixie Fire. The white line was the APPROXIMATE perimeter at 8 p.m. PDT July 15, 2021. The red areas represent heat detected by a satellite at 4 a.m. PDT July 16, 2021.
Since the Dixie Fire started at 5:12 p.m. on July 13 near the community of Merlin west of the Feather River in Northern California, it has burned 7,947 acres. As you can see in the satellite photo below it has been very active Friday afternoon, sending a large plume of smoke northwest which may be heavily affecting Chester, Caribou, Westwood, and possibly Susanville.
CAL FIRE reported Friday morning that terrain and winds pushed the fire further north into Tobin Ridge, but the west and south sides of the fire were at that time holding within containment lines.
Satellite Photo, wildfires in Oregon and California, 5:17 p.m. PDT July 16, 2021.
The Dixie Fire is west of Highway 70 in Feather River Canyon, 13 air miles northeast of Paradise and 24 miles north-northeast of Oroville.
Resources assigned to the fire Friday morning included 39 hand crews, 10 helicopters, 86 engines, 18 dozers, and 9 water tenders for a total of 1,018 personnel.
The Dixie Fire as seen looking east-northeast from Bald Mountain at 6:13 p.m. PDT July 16, 2021.An S2T drops on the Dixie Fire in Butte County, California July 13, 2021 shortly after it started. Photo by CAL FIRE.
It looks like an inmate crew got a ride on a Union Pacific Fire Train:
