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| Photo Credit: AP. |
FORESTHILL, Calif. (AP) — A weekend weather system could hamper firefighters’ efforts in Northern California to battle the week-old blaze that’s become the largest in the state so far this year.
The system
is forecasted to bring colder temperatures and precipitation — from 1/4 inch
(0.6 centimeters) to more than 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of rainfall over
several days — to the Mosquito Fire about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast
of San Francisco.
But stronger
winds are also expected to arrive in the area beginning Saturday, and the winds
could throw burning embers and create spot fires despite the rain.
“That’s a
bit of a mixed blessing here,” fire behavior analyst Jonathan Pangburn said
Thursday.
The forecast
came as firefighters again prevented flames from entering a mountain town and
reported major progress Thursday, just two days after the fire roared back to
life and burned structures near Foresthill. Crews on the ground built up
containment lines while water-dropping helicopters knocked down hotspots.
Conditions
on the ground Thursday were “looking a whole heck of a lot better,” according to
fire spokesman Scott McLean.
“It’s
looking really good on the west end where we had that dramatic increase of fire
earlier this week,” McLean said. Flames raced up a drainage ditch into a
neighborhood, but firefighters saved all the homes.
Scientists
say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three
decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more
frequent and destructive. In the last five years, California has experienced
the largest and most destructive fires in its history.
Evacuation
orders remained for some 11,000 residents because of the unpredictable nature
of the winds, McLean said, which typically blow in the direction of several
canyons and could rapidly spread flames if gusts pick up.
The Mosquito
Fire was 20% contained after destroying at least 70 homes and other buildings.
Total containment of the fire is expected to occur around Oct. 15.
The
109-square-mile (282-square-kilometer) blaze on Wednesday surpassed the size of
the previous largest conflagration in 2022 — the McKinney Fire — although this
season has seen a fraction of last year’s wildfire activity so far.
In Southern
California, dogs aided the hunt for a person missing in a heavily damaged area
of the San Bernardino Mountains where thunderstorms unleashed rocks, trees and
earth that washed away cars, buried homes and affected 3,000 residents in two
remote communities. Nearly 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain fell Monday at
Yucaipa Ridge between Oak Glen, home to apple orchards that are a fall tourist
destination, and Forest Falls, once a summer getaway for cabin owners that has
become a bedroom community.
“This entire
area is blanketed with up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) of mud, debris, large
boulders,” said Jim Topelski, a San Bernardino County fire chief.
The mudslide
damage in Oak Glen and Forest Falls served as a powerful warning to residents
of the lingering damage wildfires can cause months or even years after flames
are extinguished and the smoke clears.
An intense
amount of rain even over a short period of time can have catastrophic effects
on hillsides where fire has stripped vegetation that once held the ground
intact.
Also in
Southern California, firefighters were close to completely surrounding a deadly
wildfire that erupted Sept. 5 and initially spread very quickly.
The Fairview
Fire was burning about 75 miles (121 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. The
44-square-mile (114-square-kilometer) blaze was 94% contained Friday. Two
people were killed trying to flee the fire, which destroyed at least 35 homes
and other structures in Riverside County.
For more AP
coverage of the climate and environment:
https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment