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Tag: Radford Fire

Rain from tropical storm Kay slows spread of Southern California fires

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , ,
Precipitation, vicinity of Fairview Fire,
Precipitation, vicinity of Fairview Fire, 24 hours ending 5 a.m. Sept. 10, 2022

Rain that began falling at about 1 p.m. Friday slowed the spread of the Fairview and Radford Fires in Southern California. By 5 a.m. Saturday weather stations near the fires had recorded amounts ranging from 0.05″ to 0.28″.  Much higher amounts were found at a few locations in the mountains east of the Fairview Fire.

The precipitation is expected to continue into Sunday morning.

Precipitation, vicinity of Radford Fire,
Precipitation, vicinity of Radford Fire, 24 hours ending 5 a.m. Sept. 10, 2022
Fairview Fire map Sept. 10, 2022
Fairview Fire map Sept. 10, 2022

There was a concern that very strong winds generated by tropical storm Kay would cause problems at the fires, but those did not materialize, at least not by 5 a.m. Saturday.

Precipitation, Southern California, 24 hours ending 5 a.m. Sept. 10, 2022
Precipitation, Southern California, 24 hours ending 5 a.m. Sept. 10, 2022

As of 5 a.m. the rain had occurred as far north as Santa Barbara and Edwards Air Force Base. It did not affect the rapidly growing Mosquito Fire 27 miles west of Lake Tahoe, CA.

Meanwhile, Red Flag Warnings are in effect Saturday for the northwest corner of California and the west sides of Washington and Oregon.

Red Flag Warnings September 10, 2022
Red Flag Warnings September 10, 2022

The forecast for vertically integrated wildfire smoke predicts impacts in most of the Western States Saturday afternoon.

Forecast for smoke
Forecast for smoke at 1 p.m. MDT Sept. 10, 2022. NOAA

Spread of the Radford Fire at Big Bear slows in Southern California

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 2 Comments on Spread of the Radford Fire at Big Bear slows in Southern California

Rain is expected to begin Friday afternoon

9:45 a.m. PDT September 8, 2022

Radford Fire 3-D map
Radford Fire 3-D map, looking west at about 11 p.m. September 7, 2022.

The spread of the Radford Fire just south of Big Bear in Southern California slowed Wednesday night and Thursday morning as the wind slowed to a calm in some areas and the relative humidity rose to 50 to 70 percent depending on the location on the mountain. With the change in the weather, Thursday morning the fire is burning in the understory with only limited torching or uphill runs.

That could change Thursday afternoon as the influence of Hurricane Kay increasingly affects the area. The wind is expected to increase to 14 mph out of the southwest gusting to 22 while the relative humidity drops into the 30s. Winds should be much more subdued overnight but on Friday will increase by 4 p.m. to 25 mph gusting out of the east-southeast up to 39 mph with RH in the 30s and 40s. Beginning at 11 a.m. on Friday the chance of rain jumps to 60 percent with the RH rising to 80 percent. Precipitation amounts through Friday night could be more than 0.6″ of an inch. The rain could continue into Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Radford Fire map
Radford Fire map at about 11 p.m. September 7, 2022.

A mapping flight at around 11 p.m Wednesday found that the Radford Fire had burned about 1,100 acres. The fire, moving uphill to the north, crested the ridge above the two skiing areas and spread down hill toward Big Bear a short distance between the two areas.

 

Radford Fire near Big Bear Lake in Southern California prompts evacuations

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 8 Comments on Radford Fire near Big Bear Lake in Southern California prompts evacuations

The fire is south of the Snow Summit Ski area

Updated at 8:02 p.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022

The Radford Fire at Big Bear Lake in Southern California was mapped at 1,052 acres at about 12:30 p.m.

The video below shows a hotshot crew conducting a burning operation on the fire.

The next video was shot by the FIRIS mapping aircraft at 11:17 a.m. Wednesday. When it switches from visual to infrared, the white areas represent heat. If you look carefully you may see some circular black areas along a ski run where sprinklers have been activated.

Updated 7:15 a.m. PDT Sept. 7, 2022

Radford Fire Map 12:20 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022
Radford Fire Map 12:20 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022.

As the sun came up Wednesday morning cameras showed the Radford Fire near Big Bear Lake in Southern California was very active. A 12:20 a.m. mapping flight found that it had grown to about 980 acres and had spread 0.4 mile north of Skyline Drive/FR 2N10. At that time it was between the two ski areas, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, but was still high on the slopes, about 0.8 mile from Switzerland Drive.

Radford Fire
Radford Fire as seen from the Bear Mtn. camera looking northwest at 6:50 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022. Snow making infrastructure is being used to wet down the vegetation near the ski runs.

The ski areas are using the water systems for the snow making machines to wet down the vegetation on the ski runs.

Radford Fire
Radford Fire as seen from the Lakeview Big Bear camera looking south at 6:51 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022.

Evacuations are in effect. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office has the current details.

Updated 10:34 p.m. PDT September 6, 2022

Radford Fire Map 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2022
Radford Fire Map 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2022.

The Radford Fire south of Big Bear Lake has spread to and crossed over the NF-2N10 road above the Snow Summit ski area. The US Forest Service says the fire has grown to 917 acres.

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