Jun 30, 2008 7:58 pm US/Pacific
Stalemate In Fight Against 1,400 NorCal Fires
BIG SUR (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
Hundreds of wildfires burned across central and northern California for a second week Monday, an explosive start to a fire season likely to last well into October as dry, hot weather, rough terrain and lightning storms complicate efforts to bring blazes under control.
Coastal fog brought relief to some firefighters on Monday even as a massive plume of soot choked parts of the Sierra Nevada foothills.
No new major fires had broken out Monday as fire crews inched closer to getting some of the largest of 1,420 blazes surrounded, according to the state Office of Emergency Services. Some 364,600 acres—or almost 570 square miles—have burned.
The number of fires forced firefighting officials to strategically choose which blazes to fight, while leaving some others to burn for weeks or months.
"It's like eating an elephant - you've got to eat it one bite at a time," said Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
In some rugged, remote areas, it will not be possible to attack all of the blazes, because the risk to firefighters is too great, he said.
"We have to take a step back, figure out where the best place is to make a stand and sometimes wait for the fire to come to us in those situations," he said.
The blazes have destroyed more than 50 buildings, said Gregory Renick, state emergency services spokesman. More than 19,500 firefighters are battling the blazes and 926 helicopters have been used.
Tahoe National Forest Two wildfires burning in the Tahoe National Forest sent up plumes of smoke that darkened patches of the 100-mile stretch between Sacramento and Reno.
The fires blanketed portions of the Interstate 80 corridor linking the two cities and the foothill communities in between where tens of thousands of people live.
The blazes also forced the evacuation of the tiny Gold Rush community of Washington, in Nevada County.
Monterey County Along the Pacific, fire officials said fog and humidity helped them gain ground against a blaze that remained just 3 percent contained near the storied town of Big Sur.
Since it broke out more than a week ago, the Basin-Complex Fire had blackened more than 39,600 acres, or about 62 square miles.
While the flames outside the town of Big Sur continued to rage, fire officials said a protective fire line and the increased humidity were keeping the fire away.
Firefighters poured personnel and equipment into the area to ensure the fire did not reach the town, said John Ahlman, a spokesman for the Los Padres National Forest.
The wildfire had also forced the closure of a scenic stretch of a coastal Highway 1 and driven away visitors at the peak of the tourist season.
The Basin-Complex Fire is one of two major wildfires in the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County.
Firefighters said they were making progress against the second fire. The Indians Fire was now 89 percent contained after burning more than 60,000 acres.
It has burned in a wilderness area west of King City since June 8. Fire officials hoped to have that fire contained by Thursday.
Mendocino County
There were still 54 active fires burning Monday afternoon in Mendocino County, but they were 38 percent contained.
That's down from 123 fires initially following lightning strikes in the county on June 21 and 22. The fires had burned 37,200 acres and caused six injuries, as of Monday.
Two residences had been destroyed, 900 residences and one commercial property were threatened and the estimated cost of fighting the fires was $8.4 million, said Tracy Boudreaux, Cal Fire's information officer in Mendocino County.
Resources devoted to fighting the fires include 105 engines, 24 crews, seven helicopters, 33 water tenders, 46 dozers, 251 overhead efforts and a total of 1,240 fire personnel.
Evacuation warnings remained in effect for the Greenfield subdivision from Fred MacMurray Lane to Ranch Road; Main Ranch Road to Orr Springs Road to Running Springs Road to the Singley Ranch; and the communities of Rockport and Cummings and the Town of Leggett.
Evacuations were lifted for the Chicken Ridge Webber subdivision, Navarro/Flynn Creek and Cherry Creek/intersection of U.S. Highway 101 and state Highway 162, according to Cal Fire.
The Fort Bragg High School and Willits High School remained as standby evacuation centers.
Mountain View Road from Mile Post 14 to Mile Post 20 was still closed to all traffic except fire department, law enforcement and critical incident resources until further notice, Cal Fire said.
Kern County A fire in the remote Piute Mountain area south of Lake Isabella had burned more than 1,000 acres, causing some small communities to be evacuated, mostly vacation homes.
Evacuations were ordered early Monday for about 50 residences in the French Meadow and Brown's Meadow areas.
The Kern County sheriff's office said it also recommended evacuations Monday afternoon in Valley View off Saddle Springs Road, Red Mountain Estates, Claraville, Rocky Point, and Liebel Ranch.
People in the evacuation area were told the fire was an imminent threat and they were strongly advised to leave and seek shelter away from the fire area.
Thompson Canyon in Walker Basin was also under a precautionary evacuation, meaning the fire may become a threat soon and residents were advised to be prepared to leave quickly.
Kern County Fire Capt. Alex Entenman said the blaze erupted in heavy timber over the weekend some 30 miles east of Bakersfield and an estimated 2,200 acres had burned by Monday.
It was only 3 percent contained, or surrounded. The cause of the blaze had not been determined.
More than 450 firefighters from the Kern County Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Cal Fire were battling the blaze.
Shasta, Trinity Counties Firefighters made progress on another major blaze in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, increasing their containment to 23 percent. But the harsh territory hampered their efforts against the 30,000-acre fire.
"It is extremely steep, very rugged territory, and there are a lot of injuries, twisting ankles, slipping on hills," said Jason Kirchner, another Forest Service spokesman. Burning debris is "rolling downhill right past your containment line. It's very complicated, difficult, dirty firefighting work."
In all, multiple wildfires burning in the Shasta-Trinity forest area covered more than 45,000 acres.
Red Flag Conditions Persist A "red flag warning"—meaning the most extreme fire danger—for the North Bay Mountains on Monday was cancelled by the National Weather Service.
But the warning remained in effect for the extreme northeast corner of the state, although the thunderstorms forecast for Monday did not happen.
Overall, however, the coming days and months were expected to bring little weather relief for weary firefighters.
Lower-than-average rainfall and record levels of parched vegetation likely mean a long, fiery summer throughout northern California, according to the Forest Service's state fire outlook just released.
The fires burning now were mostly sparked by lightning storms that were unusually intense for so early in the season. But summer storms would probably be even fiercer, according to the Forest Service.
"Our most widespread and/or critical lightning events often occur in late July or August, and we have no reason to deviate from that," the agency's report said.
Forecasters said there was a possibility of rain in the far northern part of the state this week. But the changing weather pattern could also bring new lightning and high winds, which could touch off new blazes and fan the current ones, he said.
Even a modest rain storm - highly unusual in July - would do little to diminish the likelihood of a long, tough fire season, officials said.
"Unless it rains, and we get some really good rainfall, you can pretty much expect it to be here right through October," said John Heil, another spokesman for the Forest Service.
Air Quality Problems Air quality districts from Bakersfield to Redding issued health advisories, urging residents to stay indoors to limit exposure to the smoky air.
Weather officials said that with all the lightning-caused wildfires burning in Northern California, heavy smoke could continue to fill the skies for the next few days.
Officials said smoke layers were making it hard for mountaintop fire lookouts to spot new outbreaks, but that spotter planes were having more luck.
Disaster Declaration Issued Over the weekend, President Bush issued an emergency declaration for California and ordered federal agencies to assist in firefighting efforts.
But California emergency officials said state and local governments would also need federal financing to cover the costs of fighting so many fires this early in the year.
Federal aid now includes four Marine Corps helicopters, remote sensing of the fires by NASA, federal firefighters, and the activation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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