Lightning strikes spark 19 fires in Lassen, Klamath and Shasta-Trinity national forests

U.S. Forest Service firefighters battled 19 small wildfires on Thursday, ignited by lightning in the Lassen, Klamath and Shasta-Trinity national forests.

Crews had most of them contained or controlled by Thursday afternoon, but firefighters continued to battle three fires as of 4 p.m., forest service officials said.

Thunderstorms recently rolled over the North State, spewing a lot of lightning, according to the National Weather Service’s Sacramento branch. Strong wind gusts, some of which exceeded 40 mph, blew in all directions from the storms, the weather service said.

It’s typical for there to be many small fires ― less than an acre in size ― the day after thunderstorms, forest service officials said. This year, rain and well-watered vegetation is slowing the fires' spread. But more thunderstorms are on the way through the weekend and into next week.

Klamath National Forest battles seven new fires

Lightning strikes ignited a bunch of small fires in Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County this week. “In fact, we've have had seven fire starts today," Klamath’s Public Affairs Officer Kimberly DeVall said on Thursday.

All were less than a tenth of an acre in size, DeVall said. Moisture in the area is keeping the fires from spreading while crews get to them. But extinguishing fires the day after a thunderstorm is kind of like playing Whac-a-Mole, DeVall said; They can pop up anywhere.

In the Klamath National Forest, crews were on the scene Thursday afternoon at the Hebron Fire near Mt. Hebron, and the Blue and Pit Fires, all burning in the Goosenest Ranger District, east of Interstate 5 at Weed. Some of those are just a single tree burning, DeVall said.

Two more fires, both very slow-moving, are the controlled 15-foot by 15-foot Four Fire near Tenant and the fully contained Hilt Fire near Hilt, which is less than one acre in size, she said Thursday afternoon.

The Bumble Bee Fire burning in the Oak Knoll Ranger District was fully contained by 4 p.m. Thursday. This was “a single snag with fire in the top of the snag,” the forest service reported.

Snags are “dead standing trees without leaves or needles in the crowns,” according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, a coalition of government agencies including the forest service. A snag fire is one that starts in a patch drier than the surrounding area. It often throws out little fire brands and burns quickly.

The seventh fire, the Gravel Fire near Tenant, was out as of Thursday afternoon, DeVall said.

Crews contain small blazes burning in Lassen National Forest

Four slow-moving fires burning in Lassen National Forest were "100% contained and controlled” before 3 p.m., said Lassen’s Public Affairs Officer Amber Marshall on Thursday afternoon. They are the Crater Fire, Deadhorse Fire, Christy Fire and H-1 Fire. “Firefighters will patrol these fire areas, checking for heat until they are out,” she said.

As of June 8, Lassen National Forest crews have fought seven lightning-caused fires so far in 2023, a number that fits the forest service's predictions, Marshall said.

There were also several lightning strikes in Lassen Volcanic National Park this week, but none started a fire, according to the park’s Acting Chief of Interpretation, Education and Volunteers Sierra Coon. In fact, vegetation is so wet from daily rainstorms this week that crews are having trouble conducting prescribed burns planned near the Mineral headquarters in the western part of the park and along Highway 36, Coon said.

Eight fires burn in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest

Lightning started 11 fires in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest since May 29, eight since last Monday. They range from .07 to three acres in size, and total about seven acres, said Public Affairs Officer Ruth Esperance on Friday.

"Fire personnel are monitoring these fires... checking on them" until they're truly out and there's no danger they'll reignite, Esperance said on Friday.

The eight fires that started this week are:

• The .1-acre Waterman Fire that started on Monday west of Hirz Bay up the McCloud arm of Shasta Lake.

• Three fires that started on Tuesday near Trinity Lake: An .8-acre fire, also called the Blue Fire, west of the Rush Creek Lake Trail; the 1.5-acre the Rich Fire east of Ridgeville; and the half-acre Stuart Fire southwest of the Stuart's Fork Trailhead.

• Two fires that started on Wednesday: The .3-acre Campbell Fire east of Hirz Bay up the east side of the McCloud arm of Shasta Lake; and the .1-acre Philpot Fire south of Hayfork.

• Two .1-acre fires fires that started Thursday: The Lamoine Fire and the Bordy fire. Esperance said didn't yet have exact location information for these fires on Friday, she said.

The forest service sends out at least one or two crews to fly over the forest to look signs of fire after a lightning storm, Esperance said. Fire lookouts, patrols and the public who report fires also help firefighters get the advantage over these little blazes, she said.

Fire crews are preparing for more thunderstorms predicted next week through July, but the wet rain and snow season is keeping brush and trees moist and fire danger low, "creating little risk for large fires," Marshall said in a forest service announcement. “Our local forest service firefighters are prepared for response to these incidents and the coming season,” she said.

"As temperatures increase and our grasses begin to turn brown, it becomes" really "important to be more diligent, to be cautious about undertaking activities that could start fires," Esperance said.

People visiting a Northern California national forest or park should check social media sites including Facebook and Twitter for fire updates, Marshall, DeVall and Esperance said.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Lightning sparks 19 fires in Lassen, Klamath Shasta-Trinity forests