tentenNorthern California has been hit with the second and third largest fires in the state’s modern history, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department deployed resources to help the region.
LACoFD sent five engine strike teams, two from LAFD, to help fight the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in the Santa Cruz area.
A total of 23 engines were deployed and 101 total personnel from L.A. County’s fire team.
The CZU Fire is one of the state’s 17 wildfires classified as large, burning through 78,000 acres and 13 percent containment. While not as big as some of the other fires in Northern California, it is a coastal area that does not typically experience fires of that size, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“… [A] lot of redwoods that have simply never seen forest fires because of weather conditions and the like,” Newsom said. “We are in a different climate and we are dealing with different climate conditions that are precipitating in fires to which we haven’t seen in modern recorded history.”
In order to preserve the forests and fight the fires in the Santa Cruz area, more personnel such as the LACoFD and additional aerial resources have been sent.
Sending assistance to our fellow Californians battling fires throughout our state. We’ve deployed 2 @LAFD strike teams to NorCal.
Angelenos should stay prepared during fire season. Find info at https://t.co/9nIYBd6aGr & sign up for emergency alerts at https://t.co/LQimztNcqs https://t.co/HvLUTJd6cj
— MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) August 24, 2020
There have been more than 13,000 lightning strikes throughout California this past week, causing a majority of the 625 current fires that have burned 1.2 million acres.
In total, California has seen 1.4 million acres burned through this 2020 fire season, stemming from 7,002 different fires. In comparison, only 56,000 acres burned in 2019 from 4,292 fires.
“There are a lot of sleeper fires we expect to discover as our reconnaissance, our aerial efforts continue,” Newsom said Monday. “As weather conditions change, we will be identifying, likely, additional fires throughout the state.”
**UPDATE** #LakeFire is currently at 31,089 acres with 62% containment and 1,471 personnel assigned. @Angeles_NF pic.twitter.com/KDFfIevvx0
— L.A. County Fire Department (@LACoFDPIO) August 24, 2020
The Lake Fire that has been burning for more than a week near Lake Hughes, is now 62 percent contained with repopulation to begin Tuesday at 10 p.m.
The areas ready to repopulate are east of Old Ridge Route, west of Kings Canyon Road, north of Pine Canyon Road, south of Highway 138 and the California Aqueduct.
The Ranch Fire near Azusa has also burned for more than a week and is now 81 percent contained.
The LNU Fire in Napa County is now the second largest in modern California history with 350,000 acres burned, with the Santa Clara SCU Fire being the third largest at 347,000.