![]() ![]() The call for voluntary conservation of electricity was extended for a second day, not only because of mounting heat, but because a wildfire in southern Oregon was threatening transmission lines that carry power to California. ![]() Saturday to avoid disruptions and rolling blackouts. The National Weather Service warned the dangerous conditions could cause heat-related illnesses, while California’s power grid operator issued a statewide Flex Alert from 4 p.m. It was one of several threatening homes across Western states that are expected to see triple-digit heat through the weekend as a high-pressure zone blankets the region. The blaze, which was only 9% contained, increased dramatically to 86 square miles (223 square kilometers) after fire officials made better observations. “We’re expecting more of the same the day after and the day after and the day after,” Cox said. The air was so dry that some of the water dropped by aircraft evaporated before reaching the ground, she added. More than 1,200 firefighters were aided by aircraft but the blaze was expected to continue forging ahead because of the heat and low humidity that dried out vegetation. ![]() Spot fires caused by embers leapt up to a mile (1.6 kilometers) ahead of the northeastern flank - too far for firefighters to safely battle, and winds funneled the fire up draws and canyons full of dry fuel, where “it can actually pick up speed,” Cox said.įirefighters usually take advantage of cooler, more humid nights to advance on a fire, Cox said, but the daytime conditions persisted. Hot rising air formed a gigantic, smoky pyrocumulus cloud that reached thousands of feet high and created its own lightning, fire information officer Lisa Cox said. The evacuation orders were lifted Saturday, but authorities urged residents to be ready to leave if the fire becomes a threat again. As the fire’s northeastern flank raged near the California-Nevada state line, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office asked people to evacuate some areas in the rural communities of Ranch Haven and Flanagan Flats, north of Reno. On Friday, ridgetop winds up to 20 mph (32 kph) combined with ferocious heat as the fire raged through dry pine, fir and chaparral. Although there are no confirmed reports of building damage, the fire prompted evacuation orders or warnings for roughly 2,800 people in California along with the closure of nearly 200 square miles (518 square kilometers) of Plumas National Forest. The Beckwourth Complex - a merging of two lightning-caused fires - headed into Saturday showing no sign of slowing its rush northeast from the Sierra Nevada forest region after doubling in size only a few days earlier.Ĭalifornia’s northern mountain areas already have seen several large fires that have destroyed more than a dozen homes. ![]()
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