64,000-acre wildfire threatens Northern California communities

Veronica Rocha
Los Angeles Times
Tue, 02 Sep 2014 07:26 UTC

© Karen Crocker Derry via Facebook

Happy Camp Complex

A roughly 64,000-acre wildfire burning along the Northern California-Oregon border for three weeks continues to threaten two communities.

Officials have increased the number of firefighting personnel assigned to the Happy Camp Complex fire by 30% as flames advance in steep terrain, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

© U.S. Forest Service

A map shows the burn area of the Happy Camp Complex fire in Klamath National Forest, near the California-Oregon border.

The wildfire, which is just 15% contained, started Aug. 11 in the Klamath National Forest. A thunderstorm that day pummeled the region at the Happy Camp Ranger District with lightning strikes, igniting 17 fires. All but three blazes have been extinguished.

The Happy Camp Complex fire now threatens homes and structures in the communities of Hamburg and Seiad Valley, and has so far cost $36 million to fight, officials reported.

Mandatory evacuation orders remain in effect along Scott River Road from Bridge Flat to the intersection of Highway 96 and all areas south of Highway 96 between Scott River Road and Cade Summit.

Comment: See below for a chart of wildfires over the past year, note the unseasonal peak in January ( the vast majority of all reports are from the Northern hemisphere).