Dixie Fire Explodes Beyond 630,000 Acres, Prompting Thousands to Evacuate
In Northern California, the Dixie Fire–the largest single wildfire in state history–has exploded to more than 630,000 acres amid gusty winds and bone-dry conditions.
On Wednesday, shifting winds were expected to push the fire south towards Plumas County. “[The wind] is going to push on some of these perimeters that we haven’t had a big wind test on yet,” said Fire Captain Bryan Newman during a Cal Fire briefing Wednesday morning.
The fire is projected to continue burning toward the town of Janesville and down the Highway 395 corridor while retracting its eastern attack on Susanville, the largest town currently under threat.
Mandatory evacuation orders are in place across Plumas, Tehama, and Lassen Counties. In Butte County, evacuation warnings have been issued for the northernmost communities.
Much of the fire-affected area remains under a red flag warning for high winds and relatively low humidity. A cold front overnight cleared smoke-filled skies for the first time in several weeks, giving fire crews a brief reprieve. “We got lucky yesterday,” said a Cal Fire spokesperson. “There’s no way to sugarcoat that,” he said. Smoke is expected to move back through once winds shift southwest on Friday.
The fire has been burning for more than a month, with containment hovering around 30% for several days. “It’s a pretty good size monster,” said Cal Fire Operations Section Chief Mark Brunton. “We’re not going to get this thing overnight,” he said, talking to fire crews Wednesday morning. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
The Dixie Fire is only one of the fires burning in California at the moment. The Caldor Fire has grown rapidly and threatens thousands of homes in El Dorado County.