Wildfire sweeps across northern Bay Area, claiming more than 44,000 acres

By David Jacobson, M.Sc., Temblor

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Since Saturday afternoon, the County Fire has burned over 44,000 acres, including approximately 10,000 overnight, as firefighters struggle to contain the inferno, which is only 3% contained. The blaze, which is located just east of Lake Berryessa has forced evacuations in the area, and while it has not destroyed any structures, 30 are threatened. This fire is spreading so rapidly because of red flag weather conditions, which involves high temperatures, high winds, and low humidity. Furthermore, the land over which the fire is burning is extremely parched, due to a dry winter, and five years of drought.

 

While the fire has yet to take a physical toll on structures, and has not claimed any lives, over the weekend, northeasterly winds sent ash across the northern Bay Area, and even into San Francisco, creating eerie lighting, and leaving ash on parked cars throughout the city. Today however, air quality remains good.

 

 

This part of Northern California is no stranger to fires. The current blaze is sweeping across the area just northeast of where the 2017 North Bay Areas fires destroyed over 7,000 structures, and killed 31 people. Last years fires, and in particular the Atlas Fire, which was just northeast of Napa, could help prevent the spread of the County Fire towards Napa. However, this means that should the inferno continue to spread, it could threaten the area around Vacaville, according to Wildfire Today. Should any new information on the fire come in, we will update this post.

 

References

Wildfire Today

CalFire

San Francisco Chronicle

NASA