California is a state known for having severe wildfire seasons and 2018 seems to be no exception to that hard and fast rule. In fact, this season has produced slightly more fires to date than did 2017 (although less square footage) which had horrific fire activity and was the most destructive fire season in recent California history. This year through June 10, there had been 1,860 fire incidents, according to initial data collected by Cal Fire. These fires combined have burned 14,535. By comparison in 2017, Cal Fire had tracked 1,662 fire incidents burning 26,124 acres in the same time period. Hopefully this will not portend what is to come this year.
Inciweb is reporting this on the Grape Fire on Tuesday, June 12 (the last update on this fire):
- Grape Fire in Shasta-Trinity National Forest: As of Tuesday, the 12th Inciweb reported the fire had burned 244 acres and was 60 percent contained.
As of Wednesday, June 13, these were some of the more active fires in California:
- Vista Fire in San Luis Obispo County: As of 6:00 p.m., Cal Fire reported it had burned 60 acres and was 100 percent contained.
- Portola Fire in Los Angeles County: As of 8:02 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department reported it had burned up to 35-40 acres and was 60 percent contained.
- Euclid Fire in Riverside County: As of 8:02 p.m., the Riverside County Fire Department reported it had burned 120 acres and was 30 percent contained.
As of Thursday, June 14, 2018 these are the active/contained fires in California:
- Beaver Fire in San Benito County: As of 8:24 a.m., Cal Fire reported it had burned 215 acres and was 65 percent contained.
- Santiago Fire in Orange County: As of 8:28 a.m., Cal Fire reported it had burned 155 acres and was 100 percent contained.
- Chrome Fire in Glenn County: As of 6:45 a.m., Cal Fire reported it had burned 2,290 acres and was 90 percent contained.
- Apple Fire in Tehama County: As of 8:40 a.m., Cal Fire reported it had burned 2,956 acres and was fully contained.
- South Fire in Los Angeles County: As of 8:40 a.m., the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported it had burned 175 acres and was fully contained.
- Eastern Fire in San Benito County: As of 8:39 a.m. on Monday, Cal Fire reported it had burned 513 acres and was fully contained.
- Airline Fire in San Benito County: As of 8:39 a.m., Cal Fire reported it had burned 1,314 acres and was fully contained.
There are many, many other fires that are contained and being monitored as well. A full list of these fires can be found here: http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/?page=1
The Suomi NPP satellite’s VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument which collected this image is a 22-band radiometer which collects infrared and visible light data to observe weather, climate, oceans, nightlight, wildfires, movement of ice, and changes in vegetation and landforms. Suomi NPP is the first Earth-observing satellite to measure both global climate changes and key weather variables. Suomi NPP is managed by NASA, NOAA and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Actively burning areas, detected by Suomi’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from CalFire and other outlets.