MAP CALIFORNIA FIRES UPDATE

The fire’s rapid growth has also made evacuation efforts more difficult, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie told CNN on Monday, noting officials and law enforcement are doing their best to notify residents when they need to leave. “We’ve noticed that there seems to be less precipitation, less moisture and the available fuel load is definitely out there.” “I think the real difference that firefighters are experiencing on this one is how dry everything is, it’s definitely been (drier) as the years have been going on,” he said. None have come close to the mass destruction of the Oak Fire, due in part to the exceedingly dry conditions in the area, Wade said.įirefighters mop up hot spots while battling California's Oak Fire. There have been 23 wildfires in California so far this month, according to Cal Fire, but only three have exceeded 500 acres. But it remains relatively small compared to other California wildfires in recent years: It’s dwarfed, for example, by blazes like last year’s Dixie Fire, which consumed more than 960,000 acres, or the August Complex Fire the year prior that scorched more than a million acres – the state’s largest ever. The Oak Fire is the largest of California’s fire season so far, Cal Fire data shows. “The footprint out here, the acreage of available fuels to burn when the fire gets going, along with the available topography – the canyons, the drainages – the wind that flows through these areas, can make the fire behavior erratic and it can explode … the ferociousness of that fire at times can be intense,” Wade said. The challenging terrain and abundant dry vegetation fueling the fire has complicated efforts to tamp down its growth, Cal Fire spokesperson Cpt. More than 3,000 personnel are tackling the fire, deploying air and land efforts including two dozen helicopters, 286 fire engines, 68 water tenders and 94 bulldozers, according to Cal Fire. There have been no firefighter injuries reported since the blaze began, the cause of which is under investigation. Everyone is looking forward to going back to camp and getting to sleep for today.” “So, last night to get to sleep for an hour. “The first night we were here, no one slept,” he said. Gooch, who is from Manteca, said he and his team work overnight and slept for about an hour on their firetrucks. “It’s kind of a relief that everything is kind of looking like it’s holding up the way it’s supposed to.”

We dig out all the smokes and hot spots to make sure that nothing ends up on … the green side (where vegetation wasn’t burned),” firefighter Travis Gooch told CNN’s Adrienne Broaddus. “For the past two days what we’ve been doing is coming back with hoes and … hand tools.

One firefighter stood Wednesday morning by a spot where they had been able to stop the flames from advancing. Some areas are not accessible to bulldozers so crews on foot cut in a fire line, and smoke from the fire hampered the response from the 24 helicopter units involved. Officials said several evacuation orders had been changed to fire advisements.

MAP CALIFORNIA FIRES UPDATE

“Although good progress continues on the fire, there is much work to be done,” the update said. The fire grew only slightly Tuesday – to 18,532 acres and containment remained at 26%, according to an update from state fire management agency Cal Fire. California’s Oak Fire has burned through more than 18,000 acres and destroyed more than 40 structures since it ignited near Yosemite National Park Friday, as fire crews in the air battle visibility issues and personnel on the ground work steep terrain.

Map california fires