Beyond the Caldor Fire: Dixie Fire and others rage as red flag warning conditions persist

The Caldor Fire, burning in the Eldorado National Forest, dominated news into Wednesday as it exploded nearly nine times in size. But the red flag conditions that propelled the Caldor Fire’s growth had a similar effect on other Northern California blazes, including the Dixie Fire, California’s second-largest of all time.

Gusty conditions caused the Dixie Fire to grow more than 30,000 acres between Tuesday and Wednesday. The month-old blaze now spans 635,728 acres (993 square miles) — the size of Sacramento County. Thousands of personnel are battling the wildfire as it burns primarily in Butte, Plumas and Lassen counties.

Crews were able to push containment to 33% Wednesday morning, up 2 percentage points from the previous day. Officials partially credit a smoke cover from wildfires further north, which helped keep fire activity from exploding at the Dixie Fire Tuesday even as sustained winds hit the blaze.

“We got lucky yesterday,” said incident meteorologist Joe Goudsward in a Wednesday morning incident briefing. “There’s no way to sugarcoat that. Between the Monument Fire, the McCash Fire and the McFarland Fire we got (smoked) out, and that kind of kept the lid on everything.”

Fire behavior analyst Brian Newman warned that a shift in winds Wednesday could expose new fuel that would allow the fire to grow even more rapidly than before. A red flag warning remains in place for the west zone of the fire for the duration of the day Wednesday, with winds forecast to reach up to 30 mph.

But in what appeared to be a positive sign, officials lifted a large number of evacuation orders midday Wednesday across Plumas and Tehama counties, allowing some residents to return home for the first time in a month. Areas such as Chester, West Almanor, the Almanor Peninsula and Hamilton Branch are now under an evacuation warning, rather than an order.

A sprawling list of evacuation orders still remains, largely in Plumas County but also areas of Lassen and Tehama counties. Voluntary evacuation warnings are in effect for some Butte County communities. Lassen Volcanic National Park in Shasta County is closed.

Detailed information on evacuation zones and closures is available via Cal Fire’s incident webpage.

Cal Fire also transferred 30 engines from Dixie Fire to the raging Caldor Fire Wednesday morning, signaling a change in priorities for the state fire agency.

“We are moving resources around as needed .... It’s a surge, kind of, to where the greatest need is,” Cal Fire director Thom Porter said.

Still, Porter acknowledged that the Dixie Fire is “exceedingly resistant to control” and “not going to end anytime soon.”

The Dixie Fire has destroyed over 1,200 buildings, at least 645 of which were homes, according to Cal Fire. It largely leveled the town of Greenville earlier this month.

Throughout the week the blaze has crept closer to the city of Susanville, the seat of Lassen County and home to around 15,000 residents. Fire lines southwest of the city held throughout the night, and officials expect Wednesday’s wind shift to keep the blaze at bay for the time being.

A spot fire to the east of the main blaze is also threatening the town of Janesville, which is home to just under 1,500 people. Officials anticipate that winds may whip up that fire Wednesday. Crews in the area are prioritizing structure protection in the small town.

The Dixie Fire’s cause officially remains under investigation, but PG&E in a filing to state regulators acknowledged the involvement of its equipment, writing that an employee spotted a “healthy green tree” leaning against a conductor on one of the utility company’s power poles.

No fatalities have been reported in connection with the Dixie Fire. At least three first responders have been injured, Cal Fire says.

More than 6,000 firefighters were assigned to the incident Wednesday morning.

Trinity County wildfires

Two large fires in Trinity County that ignited during a late July lightning storm continue to burn and prompt evacuation warnings: the Monument Fire and the McFarland Fire.

Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials reported Wednesday morning that the monument fire spanned more than 128,600 acres, up just under 10,000 from the previous day. Containment remained stagnant at 10%.

Mandatory evacuations are in effect for numerous communities: Junction City, Red Hill, Canyon Creek, Coopers Bar, Big Bar, Del Loma, Big Flat, Helena, Cedar Flat and Burnt Ranch. As the fire expanded Tuesday, Trinity County officials issued new evacuation orders for part of the town of Hayfork.

As red flag conditions continue, Trinity County officials issued a large-scale evacuation warning for an area that includes the towns of Weaverville, Douglas City and the rest of Hayfork. The towns are collectively home to over 6,000 residents.

No structure damages have been reported yet from the blaze

The McFarland Fire slowed slightly into Wednesday, as the blaze grew 10,000 acres through the day and night after exploding in size earlier in the week. The fire now spans 107,102 acres and is 51% contained, down 2 percentage points from the previous morning.

Evacuation orders are in place along a stretch of Highway 36 near Platina, and in the area of Pettyjohn and Tedoc roads. Highway 36 is closed between Highway 3 and Bowman Road.

The Forest Service says at least 11 people have been injured by the McFarland Fire.

This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Beyond the Caldor Fire: Dixie Fire and others rage as red flag warning conditions persist."