As California’s fire season rages on and firefighters take on multiple blazes across the state, the Dixie fire has become the state’s largest wildfire this year to date. And officials say the fire will get worse before it gets better.
The Dixie fire is burning on the border of Butte and Plumas counties, in the burn scar of the deadly 2018 Camp fire. It has rapidly expanded to 142,960 acres (223 square miles), growing nearly 40,000 acres since Thursday morning.
In a virtual incident update Thursday evening, officials had little good news to share.
“The fire behavior conditions that we’re facing right now are really quite unprecedented at a historical level,” Chris Waters, the Cal Fire fire behavior analyst at the blaze, said in the update.
Waters said that drought conditions have created high levels of fuel for the fire not typically seen until the fall. The high energy from the fire is also causing the fire to send up plumes that blow through the air and ignite some distance away in a phenomenon called spotting. Waters said the Dixie fire is spotting up to 5 miles, the largest fire spotting distance he has seen in his multi-decade career.
Meteorologist Julia Ruthford had a similarly grim outlook on weather factors influencing the fire.
Temperatures in the region have been warm and dry for the past several days, and temperatures are expected to increase into the weekend while humidity remains low. Wind levels are also expected to pick up, and are forecast to blow along the Feather River Canyon and toward populated areas during the evenings.
“I really wish I had better news to tell you, something good to put in the forecast, but it looks like we’re going to be really looking for a very critical next three days coming up,” Ruthford said.
Containment for the fire is at 18% according to Cal Fire’s Butte unit, a slight uptick from 17% Thursday.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in numerous areas of Plumas County, and within the communities of Jonesville and High Lakes in Butte County. A new fire burning east of the Dixie fire, dubbed the Fly fire, prompted additional evacuation orders in Plumas County along Highway 70 at Chandler Road, and put evacuation warnings in place for West Quincy and surrounding areas.
Eight structures have been destroyed in the fire. Another 1,500 structures are threatened as the fire continues to spread, including numerous Native American archaeological sites.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has suggested its equipment likely sparked the wildfire; a troubleman observed the fire, as well as two blown fuses on a power pole, while inspecting an outage near its origin zone, PG&E wrote. PG&E announced Wednesday that it would move 10,000 miles of power lines underground in the coming years to decrease fire risk.
More than 4,000 personnel are now assigned to the Dixie fire.
Tamarack Fire
The Tamarack fire has charred 58,400 acres (91 square miles), according to Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest officials. Crews have gained 4% containment over the fire as it spread an additional 8,000 acres overnight.
The fire ignited in Alpine County and crossed the border into Douglas County, Nev., earlier this week. The fire jumped Highway 395 in Nevada on Wednesday afternoon, closing the road. Caltrans also closed Highway 395 between the Highway 89 junction and the Nevada state line.
The wildfire has prompted mandatory evacuations in Alpine County for Markleeville, Mesa Vista and other surrounding communities and campgrounds. Douglas County officials also issued evacuation orders for the Topaz Ranch Estates and Topaz Lake areas after a significant spot fire broke out midday Wednesday on the east side of Highway 395.
Over 1,300 firefighters are assigned to the incident, which was sparked by lightning more than two weeks ago but laid mostly dormant until gusty winds roared it to life over the weekend.
Caltrans closed stretches of Highway 88 and Highway 89 in Alpine County this week. Highway 88 remains closed from Picketts Junction in Markleeville to the Nevada state line. Highway 89 is closed at the intersection with Highway 4.
Other Wildfires
▪ The Beckwourth Complex, a pair of fires burning in Plumas National Forest, stands at 105,670 acres and is not expected to expand beyond its current perimeter, Forest Service officials said in a Thursday evening update. The complex previously held the position of California’s largest wildfire this season.
The fire complex is now 98% contained and officials lifted all evacuation orders and warnings.
The larger of the two fires within the incident, the Sugar Fire, flared and destroyed several homes in the town of Doyle last week.
Like the Tamarack fire, lightning started the Beckwourth Complex in early July.
▪ The Fly fire is also burning in the Plumas National Forest, directly east of the Dixie Fire and north of the town of Quincy.
The fire has charred 1,650 acres with 0% containment, the U.S. Forest Service said in a Friday morning update.
The fire ignited at Highway 70 and Butterfly Valley-Twain Road and has prompted mandatory evacuation orders in the surrounding area, including the west part of the town of Quincy.
