CA Fires: OC Blazes Grow; Weather Returns To 'Normal'

CALIFORNIA — Intense winds ripped through the Golden State Monday, igniting fires across the southland, and reminding Californians that this year's fire season isn't over yet. As of Wednesday, 5,000 firefighters were battling 22 fires and working to mitigate the damage Monday's disastrous windstorm caused.

Red flag warnings lifted statewide as weather conditions returned to a somewhat seasonal state, providing relief for first responders. On Tuesday, firefighters responded to 23 wildfires and despite the bone dry weather, they were all contained.

Monday's Santa Ana windstorm ignited two major fires in Orange County that prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue federal aid to the county.

The Blue Ridge Fire, burning in the Yorba Linda area had scorched 14,334 acres and was 23 percent contained as of Wednesday evening.

The Silverado Fire, which spurred more than 90,000 evacuations in Irvine and surrounding inland communities, had burned 13,354 acres and was 32 percent contained as of Wednesday night.

The Golden State faced "hurricane-level" winds Monday, according to the Associated Press. Some winds reached up to 96 mph in Los Angeles and one wind speed was clocked at 140 mph on an exposed ridge top at Kirkwood Mountain Resort's Chair 6, at elev. 9,186 feet, according to the San Francisco Gate.

The wind event forced the main utility in Northern California to cut power to nearly 1 million people while 30 SoCal customers had their power cut, according to the Associated Press.

SEE ALSO: Santa Ana Winds: See The 10 Fastest Wind Speeds In SoCal Monday

"Seasonable" weather conditions were forecast for much of California Wednesday. Northern California was predicted to experience some gusty offshore winds from the northern foothills to the coast that would gradually diminish by the afternoon.

In Southern California, Santa Ana winds are expected to remain light, but 20-25 mph gusts were possible in some locations.

A high pressure was building over much of the state Wednesday, which will lead to warming weather over the weekend, with temperatures picking up 10-15 degrees above "normal" Saturday though Monday, Cal Fire said Wednesday.

Temperatures could reach the 90s this weekend across the valley of Southern California, the fire agency added.

Much of Southern California woke up to smokey skies and severely hampered air quality Tuesday as the Silverado and Blue Ridge fires grew overnight.

On Monday, Santa Ana and diablo winds kicked up ash from old fires and sparked new blazes, prompting California emergency officials to deploy firefighting strike teams to nine counties.

Fires that sparked Monday morning in Orange County, Los Angeles and Riverside counties shrouded surrounding communities in smoke as the strongest winds recorded all year ravaged parts of Southern and Northern California, where critical fire weather was closely monitored by fire crews.

Although it seemed that California's worst fire season — or year — on record was winding down, emergency officials have been preparing for Monday's predicted wind event for over a week, bolstering fire staffing and preparing for a potential 1 million Californians to lose power amid public safety shutoffs.

So far, 4.1 million acres have burned in 2020, and more than 5,000 firefighters were battling blazes across the state Tuesday. With the absence of rain so far in October, a dry landscape coupled with high gusts could potentially ignite another string of devastating wildfires.

Over the weekend, red flag warnings were issued for both NorCal and SoCal, with warnings extended across the Bay Area on Monday amid relentless diablo winds, which helped spark a blaze in Solano County. The blaze sent giant smoke plumes into the sky, visible for miles.

An additional red flag warning was issued through Tuesday night for the Southern Sierra, Kern County Mountains, Inyo and the Mojave Desert.

But the most impactful blaze that erupted during Monday's windstorm was the Silverado Fire, which erupted in Orange County on Monday morning east of Tustin and north of Lake Forest.

The fast-moving blaze sent tens of thousands residents fleeing from their homes and threatened thousands more structures within the Irvine community.

Of the 500 firefighters responding to the blaze, two were injured Monday. Two Hotshot firefighters were severely burned and transported to Orange County Global Medical Center on Monday afternoon, officials said. They remained in critical condition as of Tuesday morning.

Firefighters struggled to battle the flames that were fanned by erratic winds blowing through in the area, which grounded air support helicopters and planes Monday, Orange County Fire Authority reported.

READ MORE: Silverado Fire: 13K Acres, 25% Contained Thousands Return Home

A second blaze was sparked in Fullerton midday Monday, prompting evacuations of nearby homes. The small brush fire ignited in the area of Las Palmas and Flintridge.

For the latest in evacuation orders, a map was provided by Orange County Sheriff's Department.

READ MORE: Blue Ridge Fire Burns 14,334-Acres, 23 % Contained, Evacuations Lifted

Winds whipped violently through California on Monday, reaching an unprecedented 96 mph in the foothills around Santa Clarita, according to the National Weather Service.

In the northern reaches of the state, weather stations recorded wind gusts as high as 89 mph overnight near Mt. Saint Helena. Gusts were also recorded as high as 58 mph at Oakland International Airport and 53 mph at the Napa County Airport.

Monday's high winds grounded flights at Ontario International Airport, airport officials announced on social media shortly before noon. All runways and taxiways were closed until further notice.

According to the airport's flight status webpage, arrivals are being diverted or delayed and departures are canceled or delayed.

Read more: Powerful Santa Ana Winds Force Ontario Intl. Airport Shutdown

The powerful gusts carried ash and debris from the newly burning Silverado Fire as far west as Los Angeles, Long Beach and the San Gabriel Valley, according to multiple reports.

But the ash raining down from the sky and blanketing streets in Los Angeles was likely from the nearly contained Bobcat Fire, which has been quietly smoldering for more than a month, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The fire has burned more than 115,000 acres, blanketing the fire zone and areas around it in ash.

Over the weekend the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services announced that it was preparing strike teams to deploy in five counties. Prompted by the severity of Santa Ana winds Monday, Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Diego counties were also added to the list of areas in need of extra fire staffing due to the intense gusts.

A strike team includes five fire engines with 15 firefighters and a strike team leader, according to a statement by Cal OES, updated Monday.

All fires burning across the Golden State as of Wednesday, Oct. 27.

**Unified Command**

Blue Ridge, Orange County, (More info…)
Yorba Linda area
*14,334 acres, grass and brush, 23% contained
*Incident is in a complex with Silverado, CAL FIRE IMT-6 is assigned

Silverado Fire, Orange County (more info…)
Off Santiago Canyon Rd and Silverado Canyon Rd, in Silverado
*13,354 acres, 32% contained
*Incident is in a complex with Blue Ridge, CAL FIRE IMT-6 is assigned.
**Federal Incidents**

Point, Vegetation Fire, Placer County (more info…)
16 miles east of Foresthill (Eldorado National Forest)
*94 acres, timber, 10% contained

August Complex, multiple Counties (more info…)
Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama and Trinity Counties
Elk Creek and Stonyford area (Mendocino National Forest)
*1,032,648 acres, 93% contained
*1 fatality
*210 structures destroyed
*The fire is being managed in four zones by 4 national Incident Management Teams

Creek Fire, Fresno and Madera Counties (more info…)
Northeast of Shaver Lake (Sierra National Forest)
*378,701 acres, 63% contained
*Evacuations in place
*Heavy tree mortality in the area
*856 structures destroyed
* California Interagency Incident Management Team 1 is in command

SQF Complex, Tulare County (more info…)
3 miles east of Giant Sequoia National Monument
*169,921 acres, 75% contained
*Evacuation order and warnings remain in place
*228 structures destroyed
*California Interagency Incident Management Team 13 is in command.

Coleman Fire, Monterey County (more info…)
North Fort Hunter Liggett
*574 acres, 70% contained
*Continued structure threat

North Complex, Plumas County (more info…)
Northeast of Oroville to southwest of Quincy (Plumas National Forest)
*318,930 acres, 96% contained
*15 fatalities
*2,352 structures destroyed

Slater Fire, Siskiyou County (more info…)
5 miles North of Happy Camp (Klamath National Forest)
*156,773 acres, 85% contained
*2 fatalities

Devil Fire, Siskiyou County (more info…)
5 miles north of Upper Devil’s Peak (Klamath National Forest)
*8,885 acres, 67% contained

Fork Fire, El Dorado County, (more info…)
15 miles northeast of Pollock Pines (El Dorado National Forest)
*1,670 acres, 85% contained

Red Salmon Complex – Humboldt County (more info…)
14 miles northeast of Willow Creek (Shasta-Trinity National Forest)
*143,836 acres, 78% contained

Blue Jay Fire, Mariposa County (more info…)
Yosemite National Park Wilderness
*6,840 acres, 50% contained

Wolf Fire, Tuolumne County (more info…)
Yosemite National Park Wilderness
*1,935 acres, 40% contained

Moraine, Tulare County (more info…)
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness
*988 acres, 70% contained

Rattlesnake, Tulare County (more info…)
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness
*6,867 acres, 40% contained

Dolan Fire, Monterey County (more info…)
Hwy 1, 10 miles south of Big Sur (Los Padres National Forest)
*124,924 acres, 98% contained

Slink Fire, Mono County (more info…)
2 miles west of Coleville (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest)
*26,759 acres, 90% contained

Apple Fire, Riverside County (more info…)
Oak Glen/Cherry Valley (San Bernardino National Forest)
*33,424 acres, 95% contained

Bobcat Fire, Los Angeles County (more info…)
North of Duarte (Angeles National Forest)
*115,796 acres, 95% containment

Bullfrog Fire, Fresno County (more info…)
SE of Bullfrog Lake (Sierra National Forest)
*1,185 acres, 60% contained

El Dorado Fire, San Bernardino County (more info…)
West of Oak Glen (San Bernardino National Forest)
*22,744 acres, 95% contained
*1 fatality

COVERAGE FIRE COVERAGE:

Los Angeles Faces Elevated Fire Risk As 96 MPH Wind Gust Recorded

Fire in Fullerton Leads To Evacuations, Red Flag Warning For OC

Smokey Redlands Fire Burns 5 Acres

Red Flag Warning Extended Across Bay Area Amid High Winds

Blue Ridge Fire: 14,334 Acres, 23% Contained, Evacuations Lifted

Silverado Fire: 13K+ Acres, 32% Contained Thousands Return Home

Vegetation Fire Breaks Out Along Highway 12 In Solano County

Rancho Palos Verdes Brush Fire Contained

Hotshot Firefighters Severely Burned Battling Silverado Fire

Aggressive Effort Stops Topanga Wildfire

This article originally appeared on the Across California Patch