Sunday Update: Air response for SCU Lightning Complex; Progress with Moc Fire
Sunday 9:10 a.m. update: Moc Fire containment doubles
Containment of the Moc Fire, burning in parts of Tuolumne and Calaveras counties, has gone from 5% to 10%, CalFire reported Sunday morning. It remains at 2,800 acres.
No structures have been lost or damaged, but 1,500 remain threatened.
Sunday 7:30 a.m. Update: SCU Lightning Complex to be fought by air
The SCU Lightning Complex, which includes the Canyon Fire in and around Del Puerto Canyon west of Patterson, faced another night of poor humidity and southwest winds that “tested containment lines on the north edge of the Calaveras and Canyon zones,” CalFire reported Sunday morning.
A Red Flag warning, signaling the possibility of warm winds and dry lightning, began Sunday morning at 5 and is expected to last through Monday at 5 a.m.
As the agency reported injuries to two firefighters and two civilians, “aerial assets” will be used Sunday in hopes of containing the perimeters of the 339,968-acre wildfire beyond the 10% it’s been for the past few days.
There is no prediction on when the fires will be fully contained, CalFire reported.
Diablo Grande Parkway and the Diablo Grande community remained under an evacuation warning.
While there are five known structures that have been destroyed, 20,265 remain threatened.
The fire, which Saturday night became the second largest fire by acreage in state history dating back to 1932, was surpassed overnight by the LNU Lightning Complex in Sonoma and Napa counties, among others. It’s now at 341,243 acres. The largest is the Mendocino Complex, which burned 459,123 acres in July of 2018.
6:30 a.m. Update: Some containment seen in Moc Fire
Some progress is being made at the Moc Fire, which encompasses parts of Tuolumne and Mariposa counties.
Firefighters there have the 2,800-acre wildfire 5% contained, CalFire announced Saturday night. It’s the first time there has been a report with anything above zero containment.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department, on its Facebook page, wrote that additional resources had arrived or were to arrive Sunday. The rugged terrain has made it difficult. Because of hot and dry weather conditions, along with possible lightning over the next two days, evacuated areas remain threatened.
As it does each day, CalFire should post an update later this morning on its incident page.
There are evacuation areas set up at the Mother Lode and Mariposa fairgrounds.
Saturday 8:30 p.m. Update: SCU Lightning Complex growing
The SCU Lightning Fire, which encompasses part of Stanislaus County, continues to burn out of control, and has grown to 339,968 acres, making it the second largest fire in California since CalFire began tracking the data in 1932, when acreage count became more reliable.
The fire, which spreads over five counties, was fueled Saturday afternoon by high temperatures and winds of up to 15 mph. Firefighters have 10% containment on the blaze that began last Sunday.
Residents of the Diablo Grande community – where fire burns in Del Puerto Canyon as part of the Canyon Zone Fire of the larger complex – are under an evacuation warning, according to the fire agency’s update at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Four firefighters or civilians, up from two this morning, have been injured. At this point, five structures are known to have been destroyed.
2:30 p.m. Update: Red Flag Warning issued for lightning storms
The US National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a Red Flag Warning because of forecast dry lightning storms this weekend. A previous advisory about the storms has been upgraded due to potential thunderstorms with little to no accompanying rainfall starting 5 a.m. Sunday and going until 11 p.m. Monday .
The NWS warns that the storms may ignite additional wildfires. The two major wildfires burning in the state currently, the LNU Lightning Complex and SCU Lighting Complex fires, were ignited by multiple lightning strikes and are now the second and third largest fires, respectively, in the state’s history.
The Red Flag Warning encompasses much of Northern California including Stanislaus and foothill counties. Lightning and gusty, erratic winds around storms will be the main threat and could spark more wildfires. The NWS encourages everyone in the area to have an emergency plan in case a fire starts near them. People who see smoke should call 911.
12:15 p.m. Update: Hetch Hetchy Moc Fire mandatory evacuation lifted
The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office lifted the mandatory evacuation orders and fire advisement for just the Moccasin Hetch Hetchy Power Plant community. Residents can repopulate that community, but other mandatory evacuation orders remain in place. The fire remains at 2,800 acres and 0% contained, according to Cal Fire.
For any non-emergency Moc Fire related inquiries, the sheriff’s department is asking residents to call 209-533-5151.
The SCU Lighting Complex fires that encompass part of west Stanislaus County has now been upgraded to the third largest wildfire in California history. Meanwhile the LNU Lightning Complex fires burning north of the Northern San Joaquin Valley through Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Yolo counties is now at 314,207 acres and the second largest in state history.
11 a.m. Update: Lightning forecast; ‘very unhealthy’ air quality
As fire crews continue to battle both the SCU Lightning Complex fires to the west and the Moc Fire to the east of Modesto and the Northern San Joaquin Valley, storms forecast for the next few days could bring more thunder, lightning and possible fires.
The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a fire weather watch for Sunday through Tuesday due to thunderstorm potential with little chance of rain in the Sierra mountains and foothills. The NWS said there also could possibly be isolated storms in the valley Sunday afternoon through Monday night.
The NWS forecast said “lightning and gusty, erratic winds will be the main threats with these storms.” Lightning caused the series of blazes across five counties including western Stanislaus County that make up the SCU Lightning Complex fires, one of the largest in California history, as well as many others burning through the state.
As the fires continue to burn, smoke will continue to fill the interior of Northern California, according to the NWS. The region is also under a moderate heat risk advisory this weekend with temperatures expected to range from 94 to 100 degrees in the valley and 88 to 98 degrees in the foothills.
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District warned that the smoke from the wildfires has caused “very unhealthy air quality “ across the region. The district has reissued its health caution, which will remain in place until the fires are under control and put out.
Valley residents are being warned to stay indoors through the weekend. The district said pollution caused by wildfire smoke can trigger asthma attacks, aggravate chronic bronchitis and increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. It is recommended people with heart or lung disease consult their doctor for how to deal with smoke and pollution exposure.
Warnings have also been issued for those with respiratory conditions, including COVID-19 patients, as well as young children and the elderly who are all susceptible to health issues caused by the wildfire smoke.
People with underlying health conditions should stay indoors in a filtered, air-conditioned environment and keep windows and doors closed. The district also warns that cloth and paper masks, commonly used to help stop the spread of COVID-19, may not provide protection from the smoke pollution.
Original Story: SCU Lightning Complex keeps growing larger
Virginia Rovar was frantically searching through the Yellow Pages at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds on Friday afternoon.
After being evacuated at midnight due to the Moc Fire, the Groveland resident was looking for a hotel because her son has multiple sclerosis and with temperatures nearing 100 degrees, his symptoms worsen when it’s hot outside.
“I haven’t slept,” the 86-year-old Rovar said. “Last night was horrible.”
Rovar, who had previously evacuated for the Rim Fire in 2013, said she was alerted about the Moc Fire by an automated call from PG&E at 4 p.m. on Thursday that her power would be turned off but return at 8 p.m.
“The next thing I know they said the power could be off for four days,” Rovar said.
By 6 p.m., she received an evacuation warning as “big ash” started to fall and it became a mandatory evacuation a few hours later.
“I started to get ready (pack for a few days) when we got the warning but with no power, it took longer,” she said.
Rover is among a number of residents in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties looking for shelter as the Moc Fire grew to nearly 3,000 acres with zero percent containment as of late Friday night.
Canyon Zone Fire in Stanislaus County
It’s one of several fires in California, including the SCU Lightning Complex, which, according to a Saturday morning update, has burned 291,968 acres in five counties, including Stanislaus. It’s become the fourth largest fires in state history. Containment is at 10% with more dry conditions expected.
The Canyon Zone Fire, which is part of the SCU Lightning Complex, has enveloped the areas of Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties west of Interstate 5. It’s comprised by several smaller wildfires that, within Stanislaus County, run generally from Del Puerto Canyon west of Interstate 5 into Merced County.
Several residents are either under evacuation orders, or the the case of those in the Diablo Grande community, under evacuation warnings.
The SCU Lightning Complex started by a lightning strike on Sunday. More than 1,100 firefighters and others, including help from Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties are battling dry conditions to contain it. CalFire reports two people have been injured and five structures lost.
Additionally, the California State Parks announced the closure of San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area (SRA) and Pacheco State Park due to the SCU Lightning Complex Fire.
Late Friday afternoon, parts of western Merced County got an evacuation warning. It includes all of the county north of Highway 152 between Interstate 5 and the Santa Clara County line, but not the community of Santa Nella.
Moc Fire burning but crews make ‘great progress’
Meanwhile, the Moc Fire has burned 2,800 acres with no containment as of Friday night. There have been no immediate reports of injuries and lost structures.
On Saturday morning, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Department wrote on its Facebook page that “Not much change in the fire area overnight. Fire crews made great progress. All Evauations, Advisements and Closures remain in effect.”
Evacuation areas have been set up at the Mariposa and Mother Lode Fairgrounds.
Along with Rovar, the Groveland resident, a man named Nathan was in Sonora trying to figure out a way to get back to his home in the Bay Area.
The San Francisco native arrived at the Tuolumne River on Tuesday to fly fish for a couple of days with a friend.
After the first two days where the fish “weren’t biting”, Nathan, who requested his last name not be used, said his friend left Thursday and went back out to fish around 4:30 p.m.
And that’s when things went wrong.
He crashed his truck (rolled over and flipped) on his drive to the fly fishing spot and when a bystander stopped to help him, he warned him of the fire and told him he should evacuate.
“I only made it five miles (after getting the truck to start) before it stopped working,” Nathan said. “A guy stopped and gave me a ride to the fire department in Groveland who then took me to a bus at 1 a.m. which brought me here.”
Nathan said he received a cot bed and fell asleep around 3:30 a.m.
His family drove from the Bay Area to take him back to San Francisco and he said he will return for his things and truck when the roads open again.
More than 1,500 residences, infrastructure tied to power and water for San Francisco and the Moccasin Fish Hatchery remained threatened, Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department officials announced Friday night.
Nobody has been injured and no structures have been destroyed, according to the news release.
PG&E have shut off power to 4,100 customers in Groveland, Big Oak Flat, Pine Mountain Lake, Moccasin and Coulterville.
We’ll have more on this breaking news story throughout the day.
This story was originally published August 22, 2020 at 8:20 AM.
