SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A quiet overnight allowed firefighters to advance against a trio of massive wildfires in Northern California, but they are strapped for a weather system Sunday that brings high winds and thunder that could fight new fires and existing ones. flames of nearly 1,000 homes and other structures destroyed and forced thousands to evacuate.
The ‘complexes’, like groups of fires, burning on all sides of the San Francisco Bay Area, were started by lightning strikes that had registered less than 12,000 registered in the state in the past week. The National Water Service released a ‘red flag’ warning on Monday afternoon for the drought-affected area, which means extreme fire conditions, including high temperatures, low humidity and wind speeds up to 65 km / h (105 km / h) that “could result in dangerous and unpredictable fire behavior. “
At a morning briefing on the so-called CZU Lightning Complex fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, firefighters said it increased to 8% and with the better weather on Saturday more protective fire lines dug around vulnerable communities, including the University of California, Santa Cruz.
But there is concern about the weather and the thunderstorms that will bring high winds and “dry” lightning, a term used when such storms have little or no rain.
Chief Mark Brunton, a battalion commander for the California Department of State Forest Management and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), said the winds could blow a fire in any direction and although he is confident firefighters did the most with the time they had to prepared, he is not sure what to expect.
“There’s a lot of potential for things to go really crazy out there,” he said.
Another challenge for firefighters and police are people who refuse to leave the evacuation zone out of selfishness or because they want to protect their homes and others who use the chaos to commit crimes. Brunton said he became “sick” to learn that a fire commander was robbed while helping on Saturday to coordinate efforts. Someone stepped into the commander’s fire truck and stole personal items, including a wallet, and “ran his bank accounts.”
Chris Cruz Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Chris Clark said if people do not pay attention to evacuation companies, it will make it harder for firefighters to do their job and for police to protect property. It is also inherently dangerous to civilians, with fires burning unpredictably and tree branches falling – one hit a patrol car and damaged the windshield.
“Please leave the evacuation area,” he said.
Since August 15, state fire officials said more than 500 fires of varying magnitude had burned throughout California, affecting one million acres, or 1,562 square miles. Of these, about two dozen major fires consumed many of the state’s resources.
Most of the damage was caused by the three complexes that destroyed forest and countryside in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. They burned 1,175 square kilometers (3,043 square kilometers), destroyed nearly 1,000 houses and other structures and killed five people, three of whom were found in a house in an area under an evacuation board.
Other victims included old redwood trees at California’s oldest state park, Big Basin Redwoods, plus the park’s headquarters and campground. Smoke from the fires made the air quality of the region dangerous, forcing millions to stay indoors.
“Tuesday night when I went to bed, I had a beautiful house on a beautiful ranch,” said 81-year-old Hank Hanson of Vacaville. “As of Wednesday night, I have nothing but a bunch of ashes.”
The fire that burned Hanson’s home is the LNU Lightning Complex fire in wine country north of San Francisco. It is the most destructive, responsible for all the dead and 845 destroyed houses and other buildings. It and a fire southeast of the Bay Area are one of the five largest fires in state history, with both burning more than 500 square kilometers (1,295 square kilometers)
In response to the emergency call, President Donald Trump on Saturday issued a grand statement on disasters to provide federal assistance. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the statement will also help people in counties affected by the fires with crisis counseling, housing and other social services.
Firefighters, meanwhile, have struggled to get enough resources to fight the biggest fires because so many extinguishers have been burning around the state.
The wind farm fire has only 1,700 firefighters on scene. By comparison, the state had assigned 5,000 firefighters to the Mendocino Complex Fire in 2018, the largest fire in state history.
“All of our resources remain in line with capacity we have not seen in recent history,” said Shana Jones, Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit chief.
Underlining the danger the fires pose to firefighters, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office released dramatic video of the helicopter rescue Friday night of two firefighters caught on a ridge line at Point Reyes National Seashore. They were raised to safety as flames advanced.
“If it had not been for that helicopter, those firefighters would have been killed,” said Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick.
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Baker reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Martha Mendoza contributed from Scotts Valley, California, and Adam Beam from Sacramento.
