The wildfire dubbed the Pawnee Fire – started Saturday in Lake County’s Spring Valley region of northern California, about 70 miles (112 km) northwest of the state Capitol, Sacramento.
Access has been cut off to the rural community and almost two dozen structures have already been destroyed, while over 3,000 residents have been forced from their homes, reports Reuters. An additional 600 structures are at risk of being lost.
California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Monday that the fire in Lake County north of San Francisco is now nearly 13 square miles. More than 220 firefighters are battling the blaze that has burned 8,200 acres (3,318 hectares). Firefighters are being assisted with 32 fire engines, two helicopters, and two water tankers.
#PawneeFire [update] off Pawnee Rd & New Long Valley Rd, northeast of Clearlake Oaks (Lake County) is now 3,000 acres. pic.twitter.com/s1HjfZnq4r
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) June 24, 2018
“Firefighters been doing an amazing job at structure protection, but because of the rate of speed the fire is spreading we are seeing some homes lost,” state Sen. Mike McGuire, who represents much of the area, told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. “It’s been erratic and conditions can change at a moment’s notice.”
The Pawnee fire is the largest of 14 fires currently burning in California.
“Firefighters have been doing an amazing job at structure protection, but because of the rate of speed the fire is spreading we are seeing some homes lost,” state Sen. Mike McGuire, who represents much of the area, told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. “It’s been erratic and conditions can change at a moment’s notice.”
Things not boding well for 2018 fire season
Calfire officials have been keeping a close eye on elevations above 6,500 feet in the Sierra Nevada’s. With a poor snowpack this past winter, the ground is already drying out as the temperatures continue to rise.
CalFire Battalion Chief Jonathan Cox says, “Their fuel is two tons higher per acre than last year and can mean challenges for the 2018 fire season. One thing of concern is the drought monitor is going backward this year.”
One thing on CalFire’s agenda is the question of prescribed burns. CalFire used to tackle about 50,000 acres a year but that has dropped to about 20,000 acres a year due to air quality concerns and general nervousness about the use of prescribed burns. Cox is hoping the number of acres will go back up in a few years.
“What we like to say is a little bit of smoke now under our control, is a lot better than a lot of smoke later in mother nature’s control. It’s taken 100 years for us to get in this predicament, it’s going to take 100 years to get out of this predicament,” Cox said. “It’s human intervention and we’re paying the consequences of that now.”
