Wildfires swept through northern California on Wednesday, threatening thousands of homes and blackening the skies in and around San Francisco as crews struggled to surround them despite steep terrain and blowing heat. The smoke-filled skies are expected to draw in the coming days, reports CBS San Francisco.
The fires, many caused by lightning and sometimes driven by strong winds, had burned hundreds of thousands of acres as they swept through brushland, countryside, canyon and dense forest to the north, east and south of San Francisco. Fires also cut their way through the wine country and the Sierra Nevada.
In addition to about two dozen major extinguishers, small fires remained out, although most were stopped quickly.
CBS San Francisco says the extinguishers are putting extra pressure on companies that are already struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants offering outdoor food, and shopping malls outside were one of the hardest hit.
In central California, a pilot died on a mission with water supply in western Fresno County Wednesday morning when his helicopter crashed about an hour from New Airport Coalinga Municipal Airport.
The pilot, whose name has not been released, worked with Guardian Helicopters, based in Fillmore, which had a contract with the state fire agency, Cal Fire, to provide emergency services on call if needed, said Zoe Keliher, a researcher at the National Board for Transport Safety.
Hundreds of fires have erupted since the beginning of the week as a heat wave accompanied by humid air created a dangerous mix of three-digit temperatures and thunder that caused lightning.
California had recorded nearly 11,000 strikes in 72 hours, Govin Newsom said Wednesday.
Two fires in Solano County on Wednesday called for evacuation orders for 8,000 residents along the Russian River and residents of Healdsburg, which has a population of about 12,000, were warned late Wednesday night to be ready to flee.
Nic Coury / AP
Ashes and smoke filled the San Francisco air of at least seven fires – known as the LNU Lightning Complex – that threatened more than 100 buildings, including some homes, burned and 25,000 others in Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Yolo and Solano counties.
Firefighters said there was “extreme fire behavior.”
“Fires are making runes in multiple directions and affecting multiple communities. A critically dry air mass is moving across the area bringing strong winds,” a Cal Fire statement said Wednesday night.
The Hennessey Fire in Napa County forced the evacuation Wednesday night of St. Helena Hospital, about 3-and-a-half miles northeast of downtown, CBS San Francisco reports.
There were 50 patients in the 151-bed hospital when the evacuation board was issued just before 7 p.m., said Linda Williams, an official information officer at Adventist Health, adding that they were taken where their needs were best met. could be met.
Four people were injured, Cal Fire reported, but provided no details except to say they were not firefighters.
Travis Air Force Base ordered non-mission essential personnel to evacuate, officials said.
Residents in Vacabille, a city of about 100,000 between San Francisco and Sacramento, were awakened Wednesday morning by orders to flee.
Police and firefighters went from door to door in a horrific shrinkage to warn residents to evacuate as flames engulfed.
Karen Hansen had fled late Tuesday when flames arrived on her small farm.
Noah Berger / AP
“The whole sky was red orange and it came over the hill and it was massive. I have never seen such a thing and it only took a few minutes to get here,” she said.
The family fled with some animals but had to leave two beloved horses. They returned Wednesday to find the house and barn destroyed, but Hansen was upset to see that their horses had survived.
“I’m not overwhelmed about the house. I’m just happy that my horses and animals are alive and my daughter,” she said.
John Gardiner, 60, stayed up all night after receiving a warning from a neighbor of impending fire just before midnight Wednesday.
“It was incredible – things were swirling, wind was just flowing like a howling, ripping sound and then you could hear explosions going on,” he said. “You can taste smoke in your mouth.”
His house survived – for the moment.
In eastern San Francisco, a cluster of 20 separate lightning-triggered fires called the SCU Lightning Complex battled about 3,800 buildings in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
Five to seven people were injured in one of the fires in Stanislaus County, Sheriff Jeff Dirkse told the Sacramento Bee.
One had major burns and all were taken by ambulance for treatment, he said.
Someone who had evacuated on Monday reported that workers at an illegal marijuana farm were still on the ranch, but he could not confirm if any of the patients were.
In addition, Cal Fire said two “first responders” were injured in the fires, but did not release details.
Fire crews were hindered by dense, dry brush in steep terrain, by smoke and haze that caught heat, and by wind that occasionally dropped to 30 mph, Cal Fire reported. They struggled Wednesday to prevent flames from reaching buildings.
South of San Francisco, in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, about 22,000 people were forced to evacuate because of a fire burning in dense woodland that threatens communities, Calman spokesman Jonathan Cox said.
At least 20 homes were on fire, firefighters said.
Sources were secured, he said, considering the number of fires burning in California.
Some firefighters worked 72-hour shifts instead of the normal 24-hour shift.
“We are in the unfortunate position where firefighters will spend several days on the fire line,” Cox said. “It’s horrible, it’s exhausting.”
In Southern California, an 8-day-old fire extinguisher near Lake Hughes in the northern mountains of Los Angeles County remained a threat to 4,570 structures after destroying 21 buildings. It was 38% contained.
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