OFFICIALS: ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ CONDITIONS; BLAZE GROWS
Dixie Fire now at 113,000 acres; 8 structures lost, 17 percent contained
PULGA >> A year of drought in California has played a significant factor in the growth and behavior of the Dixie Fire, so much so that fire officials have called some of the conditions “unprecedented.”
The fast-moving Dixie Fire has burned 113,006 acres as of Thursday night, while consuming eight structures and threatening another 1,510. Firefighters were able to increase the containment to 17 percent on the fire, which started at 5:15 p.m. July 13 , in the Feather River Canyon near the Cresta Powerhouse.
The pyro cumulonimbus cloud system that continued to
provide a dramatic backdrop in the Butte County valley and foothill communities has also been a key driver of spot fires, some miles away from the main fire.
During a briefing Thursday night, Chris Waters, a fire behavior analyst with Cal Fire said the green and dead fuels are at conditions typically not seen until late September or early October. The columns, he said, are a direct really of all those heavy, critically dry fuels and their interaction with the fire, weather and topography.
“With those energy releases, we get what’s called spotting or lofting — large chunks of material get super heated on the ground, they’re elevated into the upper atmosphere, then the upper winds actually carry the column with that wind pattern,” Waters said.
The heat is so intense, he said, it keeps that material ignited and burning through the air. They are then lofted down range and become spot fires.
“Spotting on fires is not a new thing; it’s really part of the business,” Waters said. “But when you have spotting in some reports up to a mile, four miles, five miles, that is completely unprecedented and beyond the pale of what I’ve seen in my career, certainly, over the last 21, 22 years.”
Additionally, the fire’s behavior has continued to prove erratic, and with unstable conditions in the forecast for the coming
weekend, it could become even more challenging.
Incident meteorologist Julia Ruthford said high temperatures are expected to increase by 3 to 5 degrees on Friday, and another few degrees on Saturday, which will be the hottest day of the week. Relative humidity remains low, and wind gusts, which reached 25 to 30 miles on ridges, up to 40 mph at higher elevations, are also expected to be a factor in the coming days.
“We’re really going to be looking for a really critical next three days coming up,” Ruthford said.
Cal Fire said the fire is expected to continue moving in a northeasterly direction with rapid expansion of up to 2 to 3 miles.
“This fire is outpacing us at moments, and is a very large, encompassing area to get ahead of this fire at the conditions it is burning,” added Shannon Prather, an
incident commander with the U.S. Forest Service.
Fire crews are also currently using and opening up additional old control lines from the Bear Fire and the Chips Fire to help in the firefight.
A total of 4,005 personnel are currently assigned to the fire, including 337 engines, 53 water tenders, 31 helicopters, 70 hand crews, 83 dozers and “numerous” air tankers when conditions allow.
Evacuation orders, warnings
Evacuations have been ordered for a large area of Plumas County into the northern portion of Butte County.
That area extends in Plumas County east of the Butte County with Bucks Lake Road to Snake Lake Road forming the southern border.
To edge of the entire
area to the east runs along Highway 70 north of Blackhawk Road to Highway 89, continuing along Highway 89 north, to the west and southern shores of Lake Almanor to where Highway 89 meets Highway 36.
From there, everything west of Highway 89 and south of Highway 36 is under evacuation order to the Butte County line.
In Butte County, Philbrook, Jonesville and the high lakes are all under an evacuation order.
Evacuation warnings in Plumas County have been issued for:
• Stover
• Chester
• Peninsula/Hamilton
• Lake Almanor’s east shore
• Indian Valley north
• Taylorsville
• Mount Hough
• Butterfly Valley
Evacuation warnings in Butte County have been issued in:
• Tehama County Line East to Old Loma Road
• Carpenter Ridge East to Skyway
• Skyway North from Humbug Summit line to Butte Creek
• Fish Creek area within Lassen National Forest area road
• Pulga and Philbrook areas east of the west branch of the Feather River
• West of Highway 70north of Magalia
• Highway 70 at Pulga Road and south of the Plumas County Line
• Butte Meadows and Inskip areas