More wind and higher temperatures may increase wildfire in California
Firefighters facing largest wildfire in California expected expecting lower temperatures and other favorable weather on Tuesday, before stronger winds and warmer temperatures later in the week increased the wildfire in California.
As according Cal Fire, the Dixie Fire, which has destroyed 3 dozen structures near Indian Falls and is damaging more than 10,000 others in Butte and Plumas counties. In the eastern part of the 332 sq mile wildfire, the Fly Fire has merged with it.The fire was just 23% controlled.
On Monday, heavy smoke served to shade the region where over 5,000 firefighters are fighting the blazes. The fire might spread if the smoke clears early Tuesday, according to the United State Forest Service. This week, the situation is projected to worsen. Thunderstorms are possible through Wednesday, with greater winds and temperatures to followed, according to the Forest Service.
On the heels of the increasing fire exposure, California’s Independent System Operator, which manages all electricity systems in the state, announced a nationwide FlexAlert for Wednesday 4-9 p.m., urging people to store fuel.
Also on Wednesday, the governors of California and Nevada scheduled to tour the Tamarack Fire-ravaged state boundary area south of Lake Tahoe. The 106 square miles fire was consuming trees, grass, and sagebrush, yet it was only 59 percent controlled. Since the fire was started by lightning on July 4, at least 23 houses have burnt.
As per the National Interagency Fire Center, the fire is one of 79 significant flames burning 1.5 million acres, or 2,343 square miles, spanning 12 Western states.
Temperatures were expected to hit historic highs in sections of the northern Great Basin and Northern Rockies on Tuesday, and the potential of thunderstorms in California, Nevada, and Idaho was also a worry. Although the majority of the fires occurred in the western section of the state, much of eastern Montana was still under an overheating warning Tuesday, with temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees.
Impacts of wildfire in California were felt across the country, with hazy, smoky skies seen in some East Coast cities on Tuesday. About a week after comparable circumstances were reported throughout the region, air quality warnings were issued in parts of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest.
Breathing in small particles of smoke may cause long-term health problems, according to growing scientific evidence. Multiple fires caused pyrocumulus clouds, or “fire clouds,” across sections of Montana, Washington, and Idaho on Monday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Four Montana firefighters were discharged from hospital, while one stayed in a burn center. At the Devil’s Creek Fire in Garfield County, firefighters were establishing a defensive line when the winds abruptly switched and pushed fires back at them. In Montana, there are now 19 fires burning.
The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon, which burned over 641 square miles in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, remains the country’s largest. That fire had been put out more than half of the way. The fire was started by lightning and has now torched at least 161 homes, 247 structures, and 342 vehicles, forcing roughly 2,000 people to flee.
Firefighters hoped expecting better weather, which would bring light rain, more humidity, and lower temperatures, which would help to put out the fires. As the fires burn, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said the effects of climate change are being seen “in real time.” Global warming and much more severe weather, according to scientists, have exacerbated wildfire seasons in the western United States.
