CA Fires: Red Flag Warnings Remain; Trump Approves Relief Funding

CALIFORNIA — More than 8,000 firefighters were still working to suppress 12 major wildfires across the state Saturday. First responders were also on the lookout for potential new sparks as many parts of the Golden State were expected to remain dry and windy through the weekend.

A Red Flag Warning for "critical fire weather" was in effect for Northern California as diablo winds and warm conditions persisted Saturday. Warm and dry weather also lingered throughout the rest of the state.

Temperatures were expected to cool slightly over the next few days, Cal Fire said Saturday.

On Friday, firefighters responded to 38 new wildfires but were able to extinguish all of them, despite flame fanning winds.

President Donald Trump's administration quickly changed course Friday and approved California's application for wildfire support funds to mitigate damage from six recent and deadly blazes that devastated the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday.

“Just got off the phone with President Trump who has approved our Major Disaster Declaration request. Grateful for his quick response,” Newsom said in a statement Friday.

The approved Major Disaster Declaration is set to bolster the state’s emergency response to wildfires across the state and support impacted residents in Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, San Bernardino, San Diego and Siskiyou counties.

READ MORE: Trump Changes Course, Approves CA Fire Aid After Initially Denying It

Nearly 10,000 customers had power restored in Northern California Thursday evening after PG&E issued a series of Public Safety Power Shutoffs amid rising temperatures and dry winds, ABC 7 reported Friday.

The utility said Thursday that 41,000 customers in the north had lost power during the shutoff to mitigate elevated fire danger.

In the California's worst-ever fire season, several records were shattered as more than 4.1 million acres have burned in 2020, more than double the amount of any other fire season. The August Complex Fire also surpassed 1 million acres in October, becoming the largest single wildfire in state history.

The August Complex Fire was 78 percent contained Saturday.

During this catastrophic fire year, more than 9,200 structures have been destroyed across the state, and 31 people have died.

A dry landscape, combined with persistent and historically high temperatures this year, have kept the state in an extended fire season. California may be in for a dry winter as La Nina conditions have been forecast, which could keep the state in a relatively warm and arid weather pattern.

California's largest-ever fire season may not be over until November.

The deadly Zogg Fire, which killed four people, was 100 percent contained Tuesday after burning for weeks.

Cal Fire was investigating PG&E in connection to the cause of the Zogg Fire. The fire agency has taken some of the utility's equipment as part of its investigation, PG&E said Friday.

This news comes just months after PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 2018 Camp Fire — the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The devastating Glass Fire, burning in Napa and Sonoma counties, has consumed more than 1,555 structures and was 97 percent contained Saturday.

The fire destroyed historic landmarks and famed wineries along Silverado Trail, nestled within Napa Valley.

A 120-year-old home at Tofaneli Vineyard and the 41-year-old Chateau Boswell Winery, along with many other family-owned wineries were lost in the Glass Fire.

SEE ALSO: Oakland Zoo Treats Mountain Lion Cub Badly Burned In Zogg Fire

This historic fire year points to what Cal Fire, environmental scientists and some politicians have been warning about all along: climate change.

Newsom has repeatedly urged constituents and fellow politicians in his daily news briefings to look at the data behind rising temperatures in California and how temperatures have contributed to the growth of fire seasons over the years.

"Data and science are not beliefs," Newsom said during a mid-September news conference. "You have to acknowledge facts."

In 2020 alone, some 8,500 fires have scorched 4.1 million acres.

And since Aug. 15, when a series of unseasonal dry lightning storms ignited dozens of major fires, the state has been breaking records for acres burned at a rapid pace.

Cal Fire offers a website to help people prepare for and prevent wildfires. Ready For Wildfires can be accessed here.

As fire season rages on, new records continue to be set.

Cal Fire says these new records have been recorded this season:

• 5 of the Top 20 largest wildfires in California History have occurred in 2020.

• Largest Wildfires - #1 August Complex, #3 SCU Lightning Complex, #4 LNU Lightning Complex, #5 North Complex, and #6 Creek Fire.

• Most Destructive - #5 North Complex, #10 LNU Lightning Complex, #11 CZU Lightning Complex, and #17 Creek Fire.

• Deadliest Wildfires - #5 North Complex and #20 LNU Lightning Complex.

SEE ALSO: Discovery Channel Partners With Cal Fire In New Series

Here's more on some of the major fires burning as of Saturday, via Cal Fire:

**CALFIRE Incidents**

Butte/Tehama/Glenn (BTU/TGU) Lightning Complex, multiple Counties **FINAL**
Butte, Tehama and Glenn Counties
*19,609 acres, 100% contained
*14 structures destroyed

**Unified Command Incidents**

Bruder Fire, San Bernardino County (more info)
Live Oak Canyon, Redlands
*170 acres, 92% containment

Glass Fire, Napa and Sonoma Counties (more info…)
4 miles east of Calistoga
*67,484 acres, 97% contained
*1,555 structures destroyed

Creek Fire, Fresno and Madera Counties (more info…)
Northeast of Shaver Lake (Sierra National Forest)
*346,477 acres, 60% contained
*Evacuations in place
*Heavy tree mortality in the area
*856 structures destroyed
*CAL FIRE is in unified command with California Interagency Incident Command Team 14 (South Zone) and Northern Rockies Team 4 is in command of the North Zone.

**Federal Incidents**

August Complex, multiple Counties (more info…)
Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama and Trinity Counties
Elk Creek and Stonyford area (Mendocino National Forest)
*1,031,510 acres, 78% contained
*South Zone 499,830 acres
*North East Zone 271,531 acres
*North West Zone 119,205 acres
*West Zone 140,944 acres
*1 fatality
*210 structures destroyed
*Includes multiple fires including the Elkhorn, Hopkins, Willow, Vinegar, and Doe fires
*The fire is being managed in four zones by 4 national Incident Management Teams

SQF Complex, Tulare County (more info…)
3 miles east of Giant Sequoia National Monument
*168,095 acres, 72% contained
*Evacuation order and warnings remain in place
*228 structures destroyed
*California Interagency Incident Management Team 13 is in command.

North Complex, Plumas County (more info…)
Northeast of Oroville to southwest of Quincy (Plumas National Forest)
*318,930 acres, 94% contained
*15 fatalities
*2,352 structures destroyed

Slater Fire, Siskiyou County (more info…)
5 miles North of Happy Camp (Klamath National Forest)
*156,612 acres, 80% contained
*2 fatalities

Devil Fire, Siskiyou County (more info…)
5 miles north of Upper Devil’s Peak (Klamath National Forest)
*8,885 acres, 60% 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)
*142,766 acres, 63% contained

Blue Jay Fire, Mariposa County (more info…)
Yosemite National Park Wilderness
*6,650 acres, 50% contained

Wolf Fire, Tuolumne County (more info…)
Yosemite National Park Wilderness
*1,781 acres, 60% contained

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

Rattlesnake, Tulare County (more info…)
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness
*6,857 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, 92% 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

This article originally appeared on the Across California Patch