Calif Fire Forces Mass Evacuations

Ponderosa fire forces mass evacuations as Shasta County declares state of emergency

Ponderosa fire, a 15,000-acre wildfire southeast of Redding, has destroyed a dozen buildings, threatening 3,600 homes and forcing more than 3,000 people to evacuate, as Shasta County officials declare a state of emergency.

The fire which began in Tehama County on Saturday quickly spread into Shasta County moving north toward the communities of Shingletown and Viola.

Chips Fire, a large wildfire that ignited in the Plumas National Forest on July 29, has grown  to about 70 square miles, threatening several communities, officials said.

• The Plumas County Sheriff said it will issue Mandatory Evacuation Orders for the communities of Canyon Dam and Big Meadows. “Additionally, the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office will escalate to a Voluntary Evacuation for the communities of Almanor and Pratville. West Almanor remains under Advisement,” InciWeb reported.

Rush Fire.  The massive blaze has now consumed about 400 square miles. “The fire is located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Northern California District (BLM-CA-NOD,) Eagle Lake Field Office, approximately 15 miles southeast of Ravendale, California. The fire is burning near a major natural gas line and transfer station, and power transmission lines that supply the Reno area and adjacent to Highway 395.”

Reading Fire.  The blaze in the Lassen Volcanic National Park, sparked by lightning on July 23, has grown to about 50 square miles, and is reportedly 50 percent contained.

• Lightning strikes have sparked at least a dozen fires across the state since Friday.

Ramsey Fire, a 1,200-acre blaze located 8 miles East of Dorrington (Hwy 4). Photo: InciWeb.

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Idaho, USA.  Authorities ordered the evacuation of Featherville, a small mountain resort in Idaho, as smoke from the Trinity Ridge Fire in the Boise National Forest blanketed the surrounding areas raising health concerns and reducing visibility.

• The blaze, which started on August 3, has consumed about 90,000 acres and was less than 5 percent contained, as of posting.

See also: U.S. Wildfires Burning 2M Acres Across 11 States Posted August 17, 2012

Related Links

• U.S. Disaster Impact Leaps 24 Folds Posted August 1, 2012
• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!

Drought – Recent Links

• U.S. Disaster Areas Expand as Drought Deepens Posted August 1, 2012
• Extreme and Exceptional Drought Spread Across Midwest, South Posted August 2, 2012
• Wildfires Destroy Oklahoma Town Posted August 5, 2012

• Watching Events Unfold, Frame by Frame, Exactly as Forecast Posted July 20, 2012
• Deadly Heat Continues to Devour U.S. Crops Posted July 19, 2012

• Drought Continues to Plague Two-Thirds of Continental U.S. Posted July 17, 2012
• Largest Ever U.S. Disaster Continues Unfolding July 14, 2012
• Drought 2012 Posted on January 8, 2012
• Drought and deluge 

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

U.S. Wildfires Burning 2M Acres Across 11 States

Disaster Calendar – 17 August 2012

SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,307 Days Left

[August 17, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,307 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

Symbolic countdown began to the ‘worst day’ in human history on May 15, 2011...

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About 2 million acres on fire across Western U.S.

Dozens of wildfires are burning out of control across 11 drought-stricken western states, consuming scores of homes and threatening hundred of other structures, and forcing thousands to evacuate entire towns.

• Dozens of wildfires are currently raging across Western U.S. consuming about 2 million acres in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

• In Idaho, the massive Trinity Ridge Fire has consumed more than 100 square miles since early August, forcing thousands to evacuate the mountain resort towns of Pine and Featherville, about 100 miles NE of Boise.
  • About a dozen large wildfires are burning in Idaho.

• In Washington, at least 1,000 evacuation orders were issued in rural areas east of Cle Elum, about 75 miles east of Seattle, as hundreds of residents voluntarily fled their homes.
  • The fire, which started Monday, quickly spread, destroying about 400 homes, barns and other structures, and threatening many more building.

• “In California, a dozen major blazes up and down the state were keeping more than 9,000 firefighters busy, with the greatest immediate danger facing the rural community of Ranchita, about 50 miles northeast of San Diego,” said a report.
  • About 500 residents have been ordered to leave Ranchita and Santa Fe, authorities said.

• California. Rush Fire. The fire is located approximately 15 miles southeast of Ravendale, California. “The fire is burning near a major natural gas line and transfer station, and power transmission lines that supply the Reno area.”
  • The fire started Sunday August 12th, 2012, and has already consumed more than 160,000 acres, with growth potential reported to be ‘extreme.’
  • Voluntary evacuations in several areas are currently in effect.
• In northern California, a large blaze has consumed about 50,000  acres near the town of Belden in the Plumas National Forest, threatening about 1,000 homes, and prompting evacuations.

• Holloway Fire, a Mega Wildfire burning along the Nevada-Oregon state line, grew to about 700 square miles, forcing many evacuations. The fire was reportedly 86 percent contained, as of posting.

• As of August 16, about 43,000 wildfires had been reported in the U.S. this season, consuming a total of 6.4 million acres (~10,000 square miles). The 10-year average for the period is 52,005 fires, and 5 million acres, said the National Interagency Fire Center. [See previous blog comments about quality of the NIFC reporting.]

• See also Wildfires Destroy Homes, Large Areas Across the West Posted August 14, 2012

Related Links

• U.S. Disaster Impact Leaps 24 Folds Posted August 1, 2012
• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!

Drought – Recent Links

• U.S. Disaster Areas Expand as Drought Deepens Posted August 1, 2012
• Extreme and Exceptional Drought Spread Across Midwest, South Posted August 2, 2012
• Wildfires Destroy Oklahoma Town Posted August 5, 2012

• Watching Events Unfold, Frame by Frame, Exactly as Forecast Posted July 20, 2012
• Deadly Heat Continues to Devour U.S. Crops Posted July 19, 2012

• Drought Continues to Plague Two-Thirds of Continental U.S. Posted July 17, 2012
• Largest Ever U.S. Disaster Continues Unfolding July 14, 2012
• Drought 2012 Posted on January 8, 2012
• Drought and deluge 

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Wildfires Destroy Homes, Large Areas Across the West

Disaster Calendar – 14 August 2012

SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,310 Days Left

[August 14, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,310 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

Symbolic countdown began to the ‘worst day’ in human history on May 15, 2011...

.

UPDATE: Gov. Gregoire has declared a state of emergency for Kittitas and Yakima counties in response to Taylor Bridge Fire burning near Cle Elum, about 75 miles east of Seattle.

Wildfires burn scores of homes, hundreds of sq miles across Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon …

A fast-moving wildfire  has consumed up to 100 homes and left about 50 square miles of  land charred in central Washington.

Taylor Bridge Fire has forced hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes and is currently threatening 300 additional homes. The blaze is one of many major fires raging across the West.

• Holloway Fire, a Mega Wildfire burning along the Nevada-Oregon state line, has grown to about 700 square miles, forcing many evacuations.

• In Idaho, where a fire crew was killed by a falling tree, at least a dozen blazes are raging.

• In Utah, a lightning-sparked fire has charred about 40 square miles.

• In California, at least a dozen blazes have been sparked by lightnings.
  • Lake County fire has grown to 10 square miles, destroyed several homes, forcing authorities to issue evacuation orders for the residents of about 500 homes.
  • A wildfire in Plumas National Forest has consumed about 60 square miles, threatening at least 600 homes, and prompting evacuation orders.
  • Major wildfires are also raging in Lassen Volcanic National Park and Joshua Tree National Park.
  • Smaller fires have been reported across New Mexico and Wyoming.

Heat and Drought Increasing Wildfire Activity in the West: NWS

“The Heat Wave and drought in the West have dried vegetation to the point where fires can rapidly spread out of control. A number of wildfires have been started this week in several states from the Desert Southwest to the Pacific Northwest. The main culprit is lightning strikes associated with thunderstorms that produce little rainfall.”

Red Flag Warnings

NWS has issued Red Flag Warnings for parts of about a dozen states in the West, Midwest, South and Southwest.

Excessive Heat Warnings

Excessive Heat Warnings have been issued for south-central Arizona, southwest Arizona  and southeast California, where afternoon temperatures are forecast to reach 110 – 116 degrees, NWS said.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar