California Apocalypse

[Cudedog]

[Note to Beth: Is there a way to put tables in the body of a post? If yes, please tell me how - I have looked around a bit for a solution - it would make posting fire statistics easier.]

Hello everyone.

I haven't posted too much on the California fires over the last several days, mostly because Hurricane Laura has become the big news item - and rightfully so.

Our California fires seem a bit of "small potatoes" as compared to this hurricane, and the damage that has been done by it - with the reality damage and hardship inflicted by this hurricane probably still to fully sink in. My heart goes out to all those affected by this storm, and my prayers for a rapid recovery. Although looking at some of the photos and videos now coming out, I fear that recovery will take a very long time indeed.

Martha, my thoughts particularly go out to you - please let us know how you have fared, whenever you are able.

Yet, although our California fires have dropped out of the headlines, and the national interest seems to have moved on from them, California fires still continue to burn. Oddly, there is a strange kind of similarity between a hurricane and a fire - a hurricane can leave nothing but rubble, a fire can leave nothing but ash.

As is normal in California for this time of year, there is no rain in sight (first rains - might - come the end of October, if we are lucky) and as the blazing sun beats down on the dry brush of our landscape, things just continue to get dryer and dryer - I have no doubt that new fires will ignite before the annual rains finally arrive.

I still have smoky skies where I live, a strong smoke smell that comes and goes, and intermittent ash fall (although the nearest large fire to me is about 40 miles). A good part of this ash consists of very small, fine particles (which is partly why it can travel so far on the winds). I went out to my car yesterday, and noticed that the dashboard, the steering wheel (and likely everything) inside my car was speckled with white ash - even though my car windows have been, and remain, tightly shut. The ash is so fine it still gets in - no point in cleaning my car with ash still falling. I keep a HEPA filter running inside my house during these times, which mostly takes care of the smoke smell and ash particles that gets inside my house. Those filters get dirty in a hurry, though.

Temperatures have "moderated" a bit over the highs (112 degrees for a few days running) of a week or so ago, temps are now "cooler" (cooler being a relative term); today in the mid-90's, looks like back up to the low 100's + by the end of the week.

Short statistics: (These are from the CalFire website, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection)
https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/

Acres burned (fires are still burning, so this number will go up): 1,396,076 acres
(NOTE: The entire state of Rhode Island comprises a total of 988,382 acres).

Listed below are the fires currently burning, with percentage of containment (NOTE: "Containment" does not mean the percentage of a fire that has been extinguished - it means the percentage of the fire that has a fire line constructed around it. Even a fire that is 100% "Contained" will have the "interior" of the fire (the part of the fire inside the fire line) continue to burn for days, weeks - even months (depending on the size of the fire, and the ruggedness/accessibility of the terrain over which it is burning - California has a lot of mountains and wildland - it is difficult to get to a fire in order to fight it when there are no roads in). Thus smoke and ash will continue, often for weeks, even after a fire has been "100% contained".

Thus some of these largest fires might not be totally "out" until the annual rains arrive.

I have not put in how many personnel are fighting each fire - somewhere around 13,000 - 14,000 total. Nor have I put in the number of structures burned - if there is interest, let me know and I will try to include it next time.

Current (as of 08/29/20) California Fires - as can be seen, many of the fires still have not reached any kind of containment. (NOTE: there are a great many additional fires that have burned this summer, both small and large, that have fallen off this list because they are no longer considered "active"):

SCU Lightning Complex 374,471 containment 40%
LNU Lightning Complex 373,324 containment 41%
CZU Lightning 83,335 containment 29%
Butte/Tehama 55,581 containment 32%
River Fire 48,732 containment 32%
Apple Fire 33,324 containment 95%
Lake Fire 48,732 containment 73%
Sheep Fire 29,444 containment 38%
Carmel Fire 6,767 containment 81%
Holser Fire 3,000 containment 80%
Moc Fire 2,800 containment 98%
Butte/Tehama 2,782 containment 72%
Potters Fire 930 containment 20%
Johnson fire 150 containment 0%
Coyote Fire 143 containment 80%
SQF Complex Fire 25,891 containment-unknown
Dolan Fire 25,587 containment 20%
North Complex Fire 57,478 containment 37%
Beach Fire 3,780 containment 100%
August Complex 215,588 containment 18%
Ranch 2 Fire 4,237 containment 93%

Thanks for reading.

Anne

[Bethers]

Thanks for the update. I'm sure a table could be entered, but not sure what would be needed. Maybe try putting it inside the code option?

[JudyJB]

Anne, make your table and then take a screen shot of it. Save it as a .jpg. Then shrink it a bit and use the photo software to insert it: http://photoposting.is-great.net/?i=1

You can also insert a table using HTML, but I am notorious at breaking tables and calling online staff for help!

Once you have a jpg of your table, you can attach it to Outlook. It gives you a chance to set the size, so you can try small or medium and see how it looks.

I have some excellent software for handling images, so if you want help highlighting something or adding arrows or call notes, send me a message and I'll give you my email and phone number.

[JudyJB]

Update from my son in Napa: He says smoke was really, really orange-red and thick this morning. The LNU fire is contained on the southeast end where it had jumped I-80 and was headed to Fairfield. It is also contained around Vacaville, which is northeast of Fairfield. They have even lifted the evacuation order for the Atlas Peak and Pope Valley area.

However, it has been spreading into Rutherford. Some geography--Napa Valley goes from southeast to northwest. At the southeast end is the city of Napa. As you go up the valley (northwest), you hit the following small towns in this order--Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Calistoga at the very end. (The main road is on the west edge of the valley, and the fire is just past the hills on the east side.) Lake Berryessa, where the fire started also lies southeast to northwest, but 5-7 miles from the edge of the valley and maybe 10 miles from those towns. And it does not go as far south as Napa.

A few days ago, the fire was sneaking closer to Yountville, which is only maybe 4-5 miles from the northern edge of Napa. They got that under control, but there was also a fire near Calistoga, which has been controlled. However, now the fire is headed for Rutherford. These smaller fires are not in the towns themselves, but in the hills next to the towns. At least per my son who is listening to local radio. They are in no danger but my son said he was going to talk to his wife about packing up photos at least. I told them to use one of their cabinets and stuff everything in there that they would need to take in an evacuation.

[Cudedog]

Anne, make your table and then take a screen shot of it. Save it as a .jpg. Then shrink it a bit and use the photo software to insert it: http://photoposting.is-great.net/?i=1

You can also insert a table using HTML, but I am notorious at breaking tables and calling online staff for help!

Once you have a jpg of your table, you can attach it to Outlook. It gives you a chance to set the size, so you can try small or medium and see how it looks.

I have some excellent software for handling images, so if you want help highlighting something or adding arrows or call notes, send me a message and I'll give you my email and phone number.

Thanks for the tips, Judy.

I do know how to do a screenshot, and am pretty good with working with image software - I have had various versions of PhotoShop installed on my computer over the years (about 25 years or so), right up to now, today. So I know how to insert arrows and notes and things on a .jpg.

I also know how to "point" to an image if I want an image to appear in one of my posts - I also have my own (paid) webspace for that, so I don't need the photoposting website.

I'm just kind of lazy, and would like to eliminate doing so many "steps".

With the data I am accessing, I can easily do a copy-and-paste of the data into Excel (I like Excel for compiling this kind of stuff because Excel can crunch the numbers without the need of me breaking out my rusty-dusty hand-held calculator). I can then export this Excel data as html. In testing it, I find that I can easily open this saved html in a browser to display the data the way I would like it to look here.

The problem I am having is that there doesn't seem to be a way to insert this html into a. . . what do I call it? . . . "posting window" here on the forum.

I have tried the above available tags (at the top of the message window when one is typing): "Code", "List", "List=" and "[*]. None of these seem to work in allowing the placement of html.

I have even researched a bit on the phpBB forums (phpBB, as you know, is the program that runs Beth's forum). The forums I have looked at seem to suggest that inserting html on phpBB forums can't be done, but I am stubborn.

Would appreciate any further suggestions!

Thanks!

Anne

[Cudedog]

Quick California Fire Update for 1:00 a.m., September 6:

Many of the fires that were burning before hurricane Laura struck are still burning, with a few more new large fires igniting over the last couple of days. It's actually getting a bit hard to bend my head around the concept of this much wildfire this early in the year. Probably 6 to 8 weeks before the rains come.

One of the new fires is burning near Yosemite (the Creek Fire), it is being reported that approximately 150 campers at a lake were trapped and 'sheltering in place' in a campground near the fire (I'm sure we can all relate), because the only road out was blocked by fire.

"People at Mammoth Pool were told to shelter in place until fire crews could get to the site and told to jump in the water if needed. It wasn’t known how close the fire was to the campsite or reservoir itself.."

Multiple injuries - reportedly some burn victims - at least 63 people have been airlifted out by military Blackhawk helicopters:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/09/05/about-1000-trapped-in-massive-fire-in-central-california/

We have had no rain here since May, and with record-breaking temps around the state continuing - Barbie reported 122 degrees where she lives here at my house in the northern Sacramento Valley today the temp was 111 - new wildfire is hardly a surprise, unfortunately.

With these kinds of conditions, a new wildfire can be started by something so simple as a falling rock hitting another rock and causing a spark. The heat wave is predicted to go on for several more days.

Smoke was pretty bad here again today, I don't expect an improvement in air quality any time soon, unfortunately.

Active California Fires, currently burning as of 9/06/20 (1,629,380 acres burned by these active fires - this number does not include fires that are fully contained, of which there are many):

El Dorado, San Bernardino ----------------------------------Acres Burned 3,750-----Percent Contained 0%
Creek, Shaver Lake-------------------------------------------Acres Burned 36,000-----Percent Contained 0%
Hobo------------------------------------------------------------Acres Burned 412-----Percent Contained 35%
SQF Complex---------------------------------------------------Acres Burned 42,574-----Percent Contained 1%
LNU Lightning -----------------------------------------------Acres Burned 375,209-----Percent Contained 89%
Slink, Coleville --------------------------------------------- Acres Burned 18,665-----Percent Contained 15%
Sheep, Lassen NF---------------------------------------------Acres Burned 29,570-----Percent Contained 86%
Woodward, Point Reyes--------------------------------------Acres Burned 3,269-----Percent Contained 17%
W-5 Cold Springs----------------------------------------------Acres Burned 84,801-----Percent Contained 81%
Dolan, Big Sur-------------------------------------------------Acres Burned 31,901-----Percent Contained 40%
Tehama/Glenn Lightning Complex-------------------------Acres Burned 65,559-----Percent Contained 47%
Mendocino August Complex---------------------------------Acres Burned 305,673-----Percent Contained 23%
SCU Lightning Complex--------------------------------------Acres Burned 396,624-----Percent Contained 86%
CZU August Lightning----------------------------------------Acres Burned 86,509-----Percent Contained 61%
North Complex, Plumas National Forest------------------Acres Burned 38,164-----Percent Contained 40%
BTU Lightning Complex Butte County --------------------Acres Burned 2,782-----Percent Contained 75%
River, Monterey County--------------------------------------Acres Burned 48,424-----Percent Contained 43%
Ranch 2, San Gabriel Canyon-------------------------------Acres Burned 1,800-----Percent Contained 5%
Lake, Angeles National Forest------------------------------Acres Burned 31,089-----Percent Contained 70%
Red Salmon Complex -------------------------------------Acres Burned 26,605-----Percent Contained 42%

TOTAL ACRES BURNED: 1,629,380

[Cudedog]

Another short update this morning (9/6/20) at 7:54 a.m. Pacific Time.

Not good news, unfortunately.

Current weather predictions for my area are for 110 today and 109 tomorrow. The weather station for my "area" is several miles away, and I know from long experience that temps at my house are often 2 or 3 degrees warmer than the "official" temps. Again, I have a thermometer I keep on my front porch, it is never in the sun. So it might be 112 or thereabouts today (Monday) and tomorrow.

Will keep everyone posted; however when it is this hot I don't even like to go outside to see what the thermometer is reading.

In addition to these record highs, winds are now also being predicted. With high winds coming to where many of the 20 current fires here in California that are still actively burning. . . "not good" is possibly the understatement of the century.

With these kinds of conditions - high winds and 112 degree heat - new fires can ignite at any time. The newest major fire - the Creek Fire - ignited on September 4, has now burned 36,000 acres, with currently 0 (zero) containment. From nothing to 36,000 acres in only two days. . .

As they say: Wait! There's more!

With these predicted high winds, PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric, the major utility here in the northern part of the state - you will remember that it is this utility whose lines came down in high winds, igniting the fire that leveled the town of Paradise, California) has issued the following warning:

"SACRAMENTO, Calif. — PG&E said Saturday it may turn off power for 17 counties in California due to winds expected to last. The outages would start Monday."
https://www.kcra.com/article/pgande-power-shutoffs-103k-customers-strong-winds/33933813

Imagine it: 112 degrees outside, and no ac for many hours because the electricity has been shut off. Temps this high can be life-threatening. In the past, indoor "cooling stations" might be set up, a place where people can go to cool off.

This probably isn't going to happen with Covid on the march here. Combined new infections in my 5-county area are averaging 300+/- newly confirmed infections - per day.

As they say, between a rock and a hard place.

Anne

[cnq50b]

Got a call around 8 last night from my son who was camping. They had broken camp & were heading back. A fire was threatening on the other side of the mountain & they were told to be prepared for evacuation if the situation got worse. He didn't want to take that chance so they packed everything up & headed home. Just got off the phone from him this morning - safe & sound at home. They had been at Bass Lake. I'm happy to know they are safely home. DD & SIL are now staying here for the rest of the weekend.

[Cudedog]

Got a call around 8 last night from my son who was camping. They had broken camp & were heading back. A fire was threatening on the other side of the mountain & they were told to be prepared for evacuation if the situation got worse. He didn't want to take that chance so they packed everything up & headed home. Just got off the phone from him this morning - safe & sound at home. They had been at Bass Lake. I'm happy to know they are safely home. DD & SIL are now staying here for the rest of the weekend.

Near Bass Lake is probably the Creek Fire (mentioned above), which sounds like it is brewing up to be very bad, especially if the predicted winds arrive in the area. This is the fire that (as previously stated) had some 105 campers trapped for a time, with fire blocking the only road out.

Here is an update of the numbers:

"224 people escape by helicopter from the 'hellish' Creek Fire in Northern California":
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/05/us/california-mammoth-pool-reservoir-camp-fire/index.html

Very glad your family is safe. I would have made the same decision your son made. Wildfire is nothing to mess with. No "wait and see" with wildfire. Just "get the he_ _ out asap".


Creek Fire image from Los Angeles Times website (note fire engines on lower left of image)
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-05/creek-fire-in-sierra-national-forest-prompts-evacuations


Creek Fire image from Wildfire Today website
https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/09/05/creek-fire-grows-rapidly-near-huntington-lake-california/


Creek Fire image from Wildfire Today website
https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/09/05/creek-fire-grows-rapidly-near-huntington-lake-california/


Anne

[BarbaraRose]

The El Dorado fire started yesterday east of LA near where the huge Apple fire was last month. The town of Oak Glen was threatened to the east in the Apple fire and is now threatened to the west from the El Dorado fire. That town is known for it's apple orchards and apple festival in the fall. Many of the orchards were scheduled to open yesterday. It is a town I was planning to visit this fall. Now it may be taken by this latest fire.

Another fire east of San Diego, the Valley fire started yesterday. Both fires are near populated communities.

With this extreme, unprecedented heat wave throughout California, with low humidity, and then high winds following the heat wave this week, it could get really bad all over. I am glad to hear they were able to evacuate those campers near Yosemite. Over 200 of them!

I am hoping we can still head north next Saturday. Will keep a close eye on things before then.

[MandysMom]

Catherine, so glad your son and family got out sooner rather than later. Smart move. It's a bad sitation with a number of critically burned being brought out. And PG&E has announced a 17 county shutdown of power over next 3 days, due to hgh winds while temperatures ate soaring with predicted highs near 110 in many areas! Fortunately my city has its own backup power and no outages.
Velda

[Cudedog]

With this extreme, unprecedented heat wave throughout California, with low humidity, and then high winds following the heat wave this week, it could get really bad all over. I am glad to hear they were able to evacuate those campers near Yosemite. Over 200 of them!

Another view of the Creek Fire (the fire south of Yosemite) from the Los Angeles Times website:



Barbie, will post photos of the fires you mention as I can find them.

Anne

[Cudedog]

El Dorado Fire from Desert Sun website
https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2020/09/05/oak-glen-residents-ordered-evacuate-400-acre-wildfire-burns-rapid-rate/5729799002/

[BarbaraRose]

Here are photos of the El Dorado fire east of LA. It looks like it is moving to the north away from Oak Glen...

This one was taken from Palm Springs yesterday...








Oak Glen sign. Looks like they might be spared once again, luckily!



These are from the Valley Fire east of San Diego near Alpine and Lakeside...

[JudyJB]

Just testing:



How is this, Anne? I set up an Excel file, then did a screenshot, and used http://photoposting.is-great.net/. Only problem is that the image seems to big. I just inserted the file it produced into the email. Only problem is that I had trouble cutting it down a little smaller. I have something called SnagIt, but was too lazy. File was https://i.imgur.com/gHuBLf6l.jpg, and I put it inside the IMG link. Actually the RV.Net software put it in the [img] code on its own.