CHICO, California — Firefighters battling California’s largest wildfire of the year are bracing for treacherous conditions heading into the weekend, when expected thunderstorms could bring fire-causing lightning and erratic winds that could disrupt the progress of the past week. Dry, hot conditions posed similar threats across the the fire-ravaged West.
The weather, fuels and terrain pose challenges for the 6,000 firefighters battling the Park Fire, which has spread across 1,590 square kilometers since it broke out. reportedly started arson in a wilderness park in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, east of the city of Chico in the Sacramento Valley.
The fire is moving north into the rugged lava landscape surrounding Lassen Volcanic National Park, which is closed due to the threat.
“Lava rocks make for tough, slow work for hand crews,” Cal Fire said in a situation report. “Crews are being flown into hard-to-reach areas because of the long travel times and steep, rugged terrain.”
After days of favorable weather, increasing winds and monsoon moisture were expected to fuel fire activity and bring a chance of thunderstorms Friday night into Saturday, said Ryan Walbrun, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“The concern with thunderstorms is that they create strong outflow winds that could fan the fire itself or spark new fires near the Park Fire,” Walbrun said.
According to Jonathan Pangburn, fire behavior analyst with Cal Fire, gathering storm clouds can blow winds in all directions.
“Even though there isn’t necessarily lightning, it’s still an environment where our firefighters have to be vigilant for their safety,” Pangburn said.
Walbrun said there was little chance of beneficial rainfall from the storms, and the forecast for next week predicts continued warming and drying.
“Looking forward in time, we are just at the height of the fire season in California,” he said.
The Park Fire, which has destroyed at least 480 structures and damaged 47, is one of nearly 100 major fires raging across the western U.S.
a forest fire on the outskirts of metro Denver crept to within a quarter mile of evacuated homes, but authorities said Thursday they were hopeful that hundreds of threatened homes could be saved despite scorching temperatures and heat exhaustion among firefighters.
The Quarry Fire southwest of Denver’s Littleton suburb has affected several large neighborhoods. Neighborhoods with nearly 600 homes were ordered to evacuate after the fire, of unknown origin, spread rapidly Tuesday afternoon and into the night with relatively few firefighters on the scene.
Jim and Meg Lutes watched smoke billow from the mountain ridges from a lookout near their home northeast of the fire. Their community west of Littleton had not yet been ordered to evacuate, but the couple had been ready to start packing up a day earlier as flames blanketed the mountains.
“He can get over that hill pretty quickly if the wind shifts,” said Jim Lutes, 64, pointing to a nearby ridge.
Five firefighters were injured Wednesday, four of whom suffered from heat exhaustion, said Mark Techmeyer, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The fire was burning in steep terrain, making it difficult to reach, but it was contained to about 1.4 square kilometers (0.5 square miles) and no homes had been destroyed, authorities said.
Miles north, near the town of Lyons, Colorado, officials have lifted some evacuations and reported progress on the Stone Canyon Fire. One person has died and five homes have been destroyed. The cause is under investigation.
The fire was one of many threatening fires in a densely populated area. areas of the Colorado foothillsincluding one in in which a person was killed earlier this week.
New, large fires were reported in Idaho, southeast Montana and North Texas.
Scientists say extreme wildfires are becoming more frequent and devastating in the western US and other parts of the world. climate change is warming the planet and droughts become more severe.
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Associated Press reporters who contributed to this report included Jesse Bedayn and Matthew Brown.