Current:Home > ScamsLightning starts new wildfires but moist air aids crews battling blazes in rural Northern California -AssetScope
Lightning starts new wildfires but moist air aids crews battling blazes in rural Northern California
View
Date:2025-04-17 22:24:51
HAMBURG, Calif. (AP) — Weekend lightning strikes ignited new wildfires near a complex of blazes that have been burning since last week through the Klamath National Forest near California’s border with Oregon, authorities said Monday.
The lightning on Sunday accompanied heavy rain showers that caused mudslides that closed parts of State Route 96, but the wet weather also aided firefighters battling the flames, the U.S. Forest Service said.
“A moister air mass has moved over much of the Klamath today which should moderate fire behavior on any new starts,” the forest service said in a statement.
Dozens of wildfires — most of them tiny — erupted in recent days as thunderstorms brought lightning and downdrafts that drove flames through timber and rural lands.
A 71-year-old man was found dead in his driveway Aug. 16 in the remote community of Scott Bar, near where the largest wildfire, dubbed the Head Fire, broke out just hours earlier, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said last week. The death was under investigation.
The Head Fire was part of the 16-square-mile (41-square-kilometer) Happy Camp Complex of blazes that destroyed nine structures and were threatening 1,600 others. There was zero containment.
Firefighters were working to protect homes near the confluence of the Scott and Klamath rivers, a very lightly populated area about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the California-Oregon state line and about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Mt. Shasta.
The Klamath National Forest sprawls over more than 2,650 square miles (6,860 square kilometers) in Northern California and southern Oregon.
A slew of other lightning-caused fires were burning in Northern California including the Smith River Complex, which charred nearly 48 square miles (124 square kilometers) of forest in Del Norte County.
To the south in Santa Barbara County, the 8.5-square-mile (22-square-kilometer) Plant Fire, which erupted Saturday near New Cuyama, was 60% contained. All evacuation orders were lifted as of Monday.
veryGood! (39194)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- 'Wait Wait' for December 30, 2023: Happy Holidays from Wait Wait!
- Amazon Prime's Al Michaels isn't going anywhere, anytime soon: 'I still love this job'
- Air in Times Square filled with colored paper as organizers test New Year’s Eve confetti
- Immigration issues sorted, Guatemala runner Luis Grijalva can now focus solely on sports
- New movies open on Christmas as Aquaman sequel tops holiday weekend box office
- Browns vs. Jets Thursday Night Football highlights: Cleveland clinches AFC playoff berth
- South Africa launches case at top UN court accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza
- US Open player compensation rises to a record $65 million, with singles champs getting $3.6 million
- 'All Thing Considered' staff shares their most memorable stories from 2023
Ranking
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Russia says it thwarted Kyiv drone attack following aerial assault against Ukraine
- SUV plows into Albuquerque garage, killing homeowner
- The Biden administration once again bypasses Congress on an emergency weapons sale to Israel
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Rev. William Barber II says AMC theater asked him to leave over a chair; AMC apologizes
- What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend reading, viewing and listening
- Frank Thomas blasts 'irresponsible' Fox News after network mistakenly claimed he died
Recommendation
Michigan lawmaker who was arrested in June loses reelection bid in Republican primary
Who is opting out of the major bowl games? Some of college football's biggest names
Texas standout point guard Rori Harmon out for season with knee injury
'All Thing Considered' staff shares their most memorable stories from 2023
Sam Taylor
Broadway actor, dancer and choreographer Maurice Hines dies at 80
Amtrak detective, New York State trooper save elderly couple, pets from burning RV
How J.J. McCarthy's pregame ritual will help Michigan QB prepare to face Alabama