The Gap Fire started Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 6pm about 5 miles east of Seiad, California and 2 miles north of Oneil Campground (on Highway 96). By late Sunday, fire behavior had increased through the night due to heavy fuels, many years of drought, and strong erratic winds. There are no mandatory evacuations at this time. The fire is 1,120 acres in size and the cause of the blaze is still under investigation. A low pressure system has moved over the west coast and will help bring cooler conditions and slightly higher humidity to the area today.
This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on August 31, 2016. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner with information from Inciweb.