Red-Flag Fire Warnings In Nine Western States; Dixie Fire At 604,000 Acres & 1,100 Structures Burned

[hatrack]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=916
A home burns on Jeters Road as the Dixie Fire jumps Highway 395 south of Janesville, Calif., on Monday. Critical fire weather throughout the region threatens to spread the multiple wildfires burning in Northern California. (Ethan Swope/AP)

The Western wildfire season took a perilous turn late Monday and Tuesday as shifting winds drove another round of explosive fire growth, threatening communities and stretching firefighting resources thin. Fires are spreading rapidly through forests that are tinder-dry — a result of drought and relentless summer heat amplified by climate change. Red-flag warnings for high fire danger are in effect for a large part of the West from Northern California and southern Oregon through the northern Rockies into the western Dakotas. Over Nevada, the danger is “critical,” according to the National Weather Service.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=916
Red flag warnings for dangerous fire conditions in effect Tuesday and Wednesday. (National Weather Service)

The situation escalated Tuesday as more potent winds, from a different direction, arrived in Northern California, which is under a red-flag warning through Wednesday afternoon. This warning includes parts of the San Francisco Bay area. The trouble began north of the border in British Columbia on Sunday, after high winds ahead of a passing cold front helped to blow up a number of fires in the Canadian province.

On Monday, gusty westerly winds spread over Washington, Oregon and California, driving fires to the east as towering smoke plumes signaled that blazes were burning hot and exhibiting extreme fire behavior. A steady stream of new evacuation orders and warnings followed as conditions deteriorated Monday afternoon and evening. The Dixie Fire continued its march through the Sierra on Monday night, destroying structures in the town of Janesville while spreading across Highway 395, which is more than 50 miles from where it first ignited. The blaze, California’s second-biggest on record, has burned 604,511 acres and destroyed 1,100 structures.

EDIT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/08/17/wildfires-west-california-dixie-smoke/

[jimfields33]

1. Yieks! Getting close to San Francisco

I feel for everyone involved. So awful.