Firefighters are working to contain a wildfire in California’s Sierra National Forest as forecasters warn that lightning from thunderstorms could cause new fires. The Garnet Fire, which started on Sunday afternoon, has burned 14 square miles of grass, chaparral, and timber in a remote area about 60 miles east of Fresno. As of Tuesday, there was no containment.
Crews have received some help from scattered rain showers while they try to protect the small community of Balch Camp and hydroelectric facilities along the Kings River. However, officials say that strong and unpredictable winds combined with dry vegetation will challenge efforts to control the fire. “However, continued strong, erratic winds on top of dry, heavy vegetation will likely test containment efforts,” according to a Tuesday incident report.
The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings for parts of central and northern California due to an increased risk of wildfires from dry lightning during thunderstorms.
In Napa County’s wine region, firefighters have kept the Pickett Fire at 10 square miles as of Monday night. Crews managed to keep flames within canyons about 80 miles north of San Francisco. The fire was reported as 17% contained on Tuesday. A spokesperson for Napa Valley Vintners said there were no reports of damage to vineyards.
Meanwhile in central Oregon, rain and cooler weather helped crews slow the Flat Fire after it burned through 34 square miles in Deschutes and Jefferson counties since last Thursday. Containment reached 7% by Tuesday. “The incident, for the first time in the last three days, is really beginning to stabilize,” Travis Medema, the state’s chief deputy state fire marshal, told a community meeting Monday night.
Authorities had ordered evacuations for more than 4,000 homes but lifted some orders on Monday. Actor Rainn Wilson and his family were among those who evacuated their mountain cabin near Sisters, Oregon. Wilson noted this is not his first experience with wildfires: “This is our fourth evacuation over the last six years,” he said in a video posted Monday. “No matter where I go on the west coast, there’s fires ravaging the land, and it makes me really sad for our forests.”
