Where are wildfires burning in Northern California? See our live-updating map
Several fires are burning parts of Northern California, including Humboldt and Trinity counties, all of which started mid to late August.
Coupled with the fires in southern Oregon, smoke has been pushed to the northern Sacramento Valley, affecting the air quality in the area. Spare the Air is forecasting moderate air quality in the Sacramento region from Monday to Thursday.
The National Weather Service issued a fire weather watch for the Valley between Tuesday evening and Wednesday evening. The areas under the watch include the entire Sacramento Valley, including Sacramento and Redding, as well as the foothills of Butte and Placer counties in the Sierra foothills and the coastal mountains west of Glenn, Colusa and Tehama counties. A fire watch means forecasters are anticipating critical fire conditions — a precursor to a red flag warning.
The weather service says the highest threat is on the west side of the Valley for foothills west of the Interstate 5 corridor.
Pacific Gas and Electric said public safety power shutoffs, known as PSPS, were “likely” to occur Wednesday in that same area. The utility said it was monitoring conditions that may prompt a shutoff in Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Shasta, Tehama and Yolo counties. PG&E said the threat was likely to persist in Shasta County on Thursday, as well.
Current wildfires on California-Oregon border
Map: NATHANIEL LEVINE | Sources: U.S. Department of the Interior, IRWIN, NIFC, NASA, NOAA and Esri
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the U.S. Forest Service, firefighters are working at six major incidents across Northern California — they include complex fires illustrated in the above map — as of Monday, Aug. 28:
South Fork Complex
The South Fork Complex fire, according to Cal Fire, started in Little Pilot Rock, Bridgeville, in Humboldt County — about 240 miles from Sacramento.
According to its Facebook page, the fire has burned 2,905 acres and is at 25% containment, as of Monday.
The cause of it is still under investigation.
Deep Fire
The Deep Fire is located by the Stuart Fork drainage in Trinity County — about 208 miles from Sacramento.
According to the federal incident information system, the fire has burned through 3,852 acres and is 58% contained. There aren’t any current road closures for this fire and the cause is not known yet.
Updates are posted on the Deep Fire’s Facebook page.
SRF Lightning Complex
The Six Rivers National Forest Lightning Complex started mid-August in Humboldt.
According to the system, which covers the SRF and Redwood Lightning Complex, there are 18 fires total. This includes Lone Pine, Pearch, Mosquito, Blue Creek, Hancock, Devil and Glenn Fires. It has burned about 9,056 acres and is at 15% containment.
On Aug. 15, 150 lightning strikes hit the forest, starting seven of the fires in the complex.
Klamath National Forest Lightning Complex
The Klamath National Forest Lightning Complex is at the Klamath and Scott Rivers in Siskiyou County.
Caused by lightning, there isn’t information yet on its acreage and containment.
There are evacuation orders for multiple areas, including east of Horse Creek Road and north and south of Highway 96, according to Cal Fire. There are also evacuation warnings for 13 zones, including north of Fort Jones Road and north of Scott River Road.
For those who need shelter, the Kahtishraam Wellness Center at 1403 Kahtrishraam, Yreka, is open. You can reach them at 530-340-3539.
Those traveling should be aware that the Pacific Crest Trail is closed and Highway 96 is operating on a one-way traffic control.
Happy Camp Complex
Still under investigation, the Happy Camp Complex fire has burned 19,205 acres and is at 29% containment.
It started in Klamath National Forest and Happy Camp Ranger District near Scott Bar.
Smith River Complex
The Smith River Complex started south of the Oregon border, northeast of High Plateau Mountain.
It’s currently at 6% containment, burning 70,716 acres. Residents in several areas in Del Norte County are being warned to evacuate based on levels.
Those in level 3 — “Go Now” — include residents in Little Jones Creek, Patrick Creek, and all communities between Slant Bridge Road north to the Oregon Border along Highway 199, French Hill Road. Level 2, or “Be Set” include those in Rowdy Creek, Big Flat and Rock Creek.
Residents in Hiouchi from Slant Bridge to the east end of North Bank Road are advised to “Be Ready,” at level 1.
There are also road closures, which include Highway 199 in Del Norte County from Slant Bridge Road to Oregon Mountain Road and at the Agriculture Station near the Oregon border.
You can find the full and latest update on the fire Facebook page.
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