Wildfire in Southern Colorado Prompts Mass Evacuations

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Intense Wildfire Forces Mass Evacuations in Colorado

An intense wildfire in Huerfano County in southern Colorado has prompted evacuation orders for residents within a 4-mile radius of blaze.

The evacuation orders covered a 4-mile radius of from Cougar Trail and Fourmile Canyon Road, said the state Office of Emergency Management, adding that an evacuation center had been opened at the Huerfano County Community Center in Walsenburg.

The so called Four Mile Canyon fire, located on the northwest side of the canyon, had zero containment Sunday evening, KRDO television in Colorado Springs reported.

Recent Wildfires in Colorado

• Deadly OK Wildfire Destroys Homes Forces Mass Evacuation May 6, 2014

 

California Wildfire Threatens 100 Homes

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Mass evacuation ordered as wildfire consumes 1,300 acres

A fast-moving wildfire, burning west of Yosemite National Park in central California and threatening more than 100 homes, has prompted fire officials to issue mandatory mass evacuation orders.

The fire erupted on Monday and had consumed more than 1,300 acres near Lake McClure in Mariposa County, injuring at least 5 people, as of posting.

Alert Details (Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office)

• Severity: Extreme – Extraordinary threat to life or property
• Category: Law enforcement, military, homeland and local/private security
• Event: Police Activity

Hunters Fire Incident Information (Cal Fire)

• Last Updated: May 27, 2014 3:00 pm
• Date/Time Started: May 26, 2014 3:33 pm
• Administrative Unit: CAL FIRE Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit
• County: Mariposa County
• Location: Hunters Valley area near the southeast shore of Lake McClure

Acres Burned – Containment: 1,300 acres – 20% contained

• Structures Threatened: 100 residences
• Structures Destroyed: 3
• Evacuations: Evacuations are in effect for the Hunters Valley Area including all of Hunters Valley Rd to Bear Valley Rd including Hunters Valley Access Rd and Detwiler. The evacuation center is located at 2820 Hwy 140, Cathey’s Valley, McKay Hall.

• Road Closures : Hunters Valley Rd at Bear Valley Rd and Cotton Creek Rd at Bear Valley Rd
• Injuries: 5
• Cooperating Agencies: CHP, CDCR, Mariposa County Sheriff, Mariposa County Fire, US Forest Service, BLM and dozens of local fire agencies
• Total Fire Personnel: 671
• Total Fire Engines: 83
• Total Fire crews: 22

Cal Fire has responded to more than 1,500 wildfires, or double its five-year average, so far this year. Extremely   dangerous fire conditions are worsened by drought, bone dry brush and soaring temperatures.

 

Major AZ Wildfire Threatens Hundreds of Homes

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Ferocious AZ wildfire forces evacuations, thousands more on pre-evacuation notice

The Slide Fire wildfire is burning in Oak Creek Canyon north of Slide Rock State Park, consuming about 6,000 acres.

“Closures include Highway 89A from Sedona to Fort Tuthill in Flagstaff and Forest Road 535 off Highway 89A. Power has been shut off by APS from Slide Rock, north through the canyon,” said fire officials.

Up to 3-mile stretch of area north of Slide Rock State Park has been evacuated, as well as the East Pocket Forest Service Lookout Tower. Evacuees are being relocated to Sinagua Middle School in Flagstaff.

Fire behavior is said to be “extreme.”

Slide Fire (Oak Creek Canyon Overlook). Members of the Carson Hotshots and Mormon Lake Hotshots coordinate retardant drops on the Slide Fire in Oak Creek Canyon. The helicopter can be seen in the background making its drop. Taken on 5/22/14 by Brady Smith. Credit: U.S. Forest Service, Coconino National Forest.

Additional Evacuations: Coconino County has issued a pre-evacuation notices to residents of Kachina Village and Forest Highlands subdivisions, advising thousands of residents to be prepared to evacuate at  short notice. “County Emergency Management encourages those in the affected neighborhoods to begin packing important items they may need for several days. These items include prescriptions, important papers, any special dietary needs and pets.”

Current Resources: Some 840 personnel including 15 hotshot crews, 33 engines, three air tankers, five helicopters, two air attack, and other resources have so far been deployed.

Other Large, Active Fires in Arizona

• Skunk Fire Wildfire,  38,259 acres, 27 miles east of San Carlos, burning since April 19, 2014.

• Barlow Fire Wildfire, 1,482 5 acres, 30 miles east of San Carlos, burning since May 17.

 

Wildfire Destroys Dozens of Homes in Carlsbad, Calif.

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Conditions in northern San Diego County are ‘very dangerous’ —Cal Fire

Poinsettia fire, a new wildfire in San Diego County, has destroyed at least 30 homes and forced the fire and emergency officials to issue evacuation orders for more than 15,000 residences.

“It’s just unfortunately a recipe for a large fire and that’s what we’re seeing right now,” said a Cal Fire Capt., describing the Poinsettia fire to reporters.

The Poinsettia fire was a “very dynamic situation. Very dangerous situation.”

“It’s right in the middle of the city,” said another fire official, describing the 100 acre fire.

“The Santa Ana winds are expected to continue through this evening and the high temperatures and strong, gusty winds are expected to elevate danger even higher than it has been,” he said.

At least 10 other fires including blazes in Fallbrook, Camp Pendleton and Rancho Bernardo, have prompted additional evacuations.

The so-called Tomahawk Fire, which broke out on the Camp Pendleton Marine Base north of San Diego, quickly spread consuming more than 700 acres by Wednesday afternoon, and prompting evacuation of military housing and a naval weapons station, according to reports.

The Twin Oaks fire, another new wildfire in the County, forced the evacuation of Cal State San Marcos, forcing thousands of students who were in the middle of administering spring finals to evacuate the campus, LA Times reported.

Evacuations were also in effect for wildfires in Bonsall, Oceanside and Escondido Wednesday afternoon, while more blazes raged in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Fallbrook Fire in northern San Diego County. A screenshot from a local news video clip.

The Bernardo Fire

Meanwhile, the Bernardo Fire had consumed about 1,600 acres by Wednesday afternoon.

Southern California Edison evacuated 13 employees from the largely shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Power Station some 30km north of Carlsbad as a precaution, Reuters reported.

“Strong Santa Ana winds will continue to impact the mountains, valleys, and coasts today,” warned National Weather Service (NWS) in San Diego. “Strongest gusts will occur along the coastal slopes. The hot, dry and windy conditions will bring a very high risk of rapid wildfire spread today.”

NWS has issued Red Flag Warnings for multiple counties in southwestern and central California.

Other Destructive Fires Reported in SoCal

• Wildfire in the Feather Falls area brought down power lines.

• A 30-acre blaze near I-15 in the Deer Springs area (San Diego County).

Related Links

• 20,000+ Homes Evacuated as San Diego Wildfire Spreads May 14, 2014

20,000+ Homes Evacuated as San Diego Wildfire Spreads

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Massive wildfire prompts mass evacuations in San Diego, California

Bernardo Fire, a fast-moving wildfire driven by high winds, consumed at least 800 acres by Tuesday afternoon (local time), prompting several fire and emergency agencies to make more than 20,000 evacuation calls to homes, businesses and cellphone numbers in and around San Diego.

“The fire was reported shortly before 11 a.m. near El Norte High School and was pushed by hot, dry winds. Two elementary schools were evacuated. The fire approached numerous homes but airdrops and firefighters on the ground were able to stop its spread,” reported LATimes.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has since evacuated the Fairbanks Ranch area,Torrey Highlands, Rancho Penasqutios, Black Mountain Ranch, Santa Luz Fairbanks Ranch, outer portions of Rancho Santa Fe and Camino Del Sur, said Cal Fire

“Currently, the areas of concern include, the Communities of Rancho Santa Fe, Fairbanks Ranch, San Diego, Black Mountain Ranch, Del Mar, Solana Beach and the areas surrounding the SDG&E 230 KV Power Lines.”

Miguelito Fire in Santa Barbara County consumes 700 acres, prompts mass evacuations

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for 1,200 homes and businesses near Lompoc, Calif., on Teusday as a wind-driven wildfire, dubbed Miguelito Fire, consumed more than 700 acres in San Miguelito Canyon.

Residents in the San Miguelito Canyon area were evacuated because their homes were threatened by the blaze moving rapidly toward Lompoc, said Capt. Sadecki of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

Extremely Critical Fire Weather Conditions Persist in U.S. South

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Extreme Fire Danger Forecast for parts of  Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arizona

Extremely critical fire weather conditions are worsening across parts of Southern Plains, according to the latest forecast by the National Weather Service (NWS).

Record heat, gusty winds and low relative humidity values will continue the high fire danger through at least Wednesday across parts of the southern Plains and Southwest. The most extreme conditions are expected from the eastern Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles into parts of southern Kansas and northwestern Oklahoma. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions exist elsewhere across the region.

Extreme and Critical Fire Danger

About 8.3 million people live in the areas threatened by Extreme and Critical Fire Weather Conditions, a total of about 835,000km² (322,000 square miles), including the counties/cities of Amarillo, TX, Woodward, OK, Pratt, KS, Canadian, TX, Lahoma, OK, El Paso, TX, Oklahoma City, OK, Albuquerque, NM, Tucson, AZ, Wichita, KS…

600 Fires

Up to 600 active wildfires are currently burning across the U.S. , base on satellite images and ESRI.

Red Flag Warnings

Red Flag Warnings are in effect across parts of seven states—Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska.

Fire Danger in Oklahoma

Gov. Fallin has declared a state of emergency for all 77 counties in Oklahoma. Fallin also issued an executive proclamation declaring a burn ban for 36 counties.

The Governor’s Burn Ban covers 36 counties in western and south-central Oklahoma, according to the Proclamation. Those counties are Alfalfa, Beaver, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Cimarron, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Garfield, Grady, Grant, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Jackson, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Lincoln, Logan, Major, McClain, Noble, Oklahoma, Payne, Pawnee, Roger Mills, Texas, Tillman, Washita, Woods and Woodward.

The largest fire in Oklahoma so far has burned more than 4,000 acres and destroyed at least six homes, and three dozen other buildings, killing one person, said fire officials in Guthrie, adding that the numbers are likely to rise.

More than 1,000 people were ordered to evacuate the fire disaster zone.

Latest Fire Headline News

• Large Wildfire Prompts Evacuations In Woodward County (OK)
• Fire burns 500 acres 500 acres near Prescott, AZ
• Heat and Drought Fuel ‘Unseasonable’ Start to California Wildfires

State of Emergency Declared in Oklahoma

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State of Emergency declared for all 77 counties in Okla

Gov.  Fallin has declared a state of emergency for all 77 counties in the state of Oklahoma. Fallin also issued an executive proclamation declaring a burn ban for 36 counties.

The Governor’s Burn Ban covers 36 counties  in western and south-central Oklahoma, according to the Proclamation. Those counties are Alfalfa, Beaver, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Cimarron, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Garfield, Grady, Grant, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Jackson, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Lincoln, Logan, Major, McClain, Noble, Oklahoma, Payne, Pawnee, Roger Mills, Texas, Tillman, Washita, Woods and Woodward.

The largest fire in Oklahoma so far has burned more than 4,000 acres and destroyed at least six homes, and three dozen other buildings, killing one person, said fire officials in Guthrie, adding that the numbers are likely to rise.

More than 1,000 people were ordered to evacuate the fire disaster zone.