Wildfires
No new major fires had broken out Sunday as fire crews inched closer to getting some of the largest blazes surrounded, according to the state Office of Emergency Services.
But a "red flag warning" - meaning the most extreme fire danger - was still in effect for Northern California until 5 a.m. Monday. And the coming days and months are expected to bring little relief.
Forecasters predicted more thunderstorms and dry lightning through the weekend, similar to the ones that ignited hundreds of fires a week ago. Meanwhile, a U.S. Forest Service report said the weather would get even drier and hotter as fire season headed toward its traditional peak in late July and August.
The Nash Ranch fire, which started Thursday afternoon east of Guffey, forced the evacuation of about 150 homes, said Linda Balough, a Park County spokeswoman.
Two structures - a shed and camper trailer - have been lost to the blaze, Balough said.
About 125 fire fighters, including a Rocky Mountain Area Type II Incident Management Team, swarmed into the Guffey area to battle the blaze, she said.
Dry conditions, swirling winds and high temperatures have combined to make this year an active fire season.
As of Saturday evening, CAL FIRE reported that approximately 37 lightning-caused fires were started during the past 24 hours in widely scattered areas of its Humboldt-Del Norte Unit.
El Paso County Sheriff's Lt. Lari Sevene said authorities received at least six calls about 2 p.m. of fires in the area, roughly 15 miles east of Colorado Springs.
Sevene said deputies notified residents in a "a handful - maybe three or four" homes to evacuate or prepare to evacuate. No injuries to people or animals were reported.
Two of the fires were under control by 4 p.m. Wednesday.
As of 5:00 p.m., some 1,000 acres had been consumed by four separate fires.
Colorado Springs Fire Lt. Brian Keys says the five-acre fire Friday likely was sparked by a lighting strike Thursday that smoldered.
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©David Erickson / Whitefish Pilot |
Scattered flames mark the eastern boundary of the Skyland Fire near the town of Heart Butte on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation on Aug 1 just after midnight. |
That supposition is based on where the state is now with maybe one more month of fires ahead before a good rain or snow finally extinguishes the fires for good.
To make matters worse, seven new lightning-caused fires were detected Tuesday in the Swan Lake area, despite a light rain.
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©AP |
The red lights of fire trucks, right, are seen as firefighters prepare defend homes against a fast moving wildfire Friday night, July 13, 2007, in Asotin County, Wash. |
Close to 2,700 lightning strikes were reported in Washington and Oregon on Friday and early Saturday, sparking 212 fires, but firefighters quickly contained most of them. Three of the largest remaining fires had burned nearly 43 square miles of grass, sagebrush and farm fields in south-central Washington, and only one had been contained by early Saturday afternoon.
Many of the fires were started by lightning and fueled by dry conditions, made worse by a heat wave that sizzled across the western United States last week.
The South Dakota fire had raced out of a canyon, destroyed 27 houses and killed a homeowner who went back to try to save his belongings, a top fire official said early Monday.
The change in weather gave firefighters a chance to shore up their fire lines, though conditions could shift again for the worse, state wildland fire coordinator Joe Lowe told crews at a morning briefing held in light rain.
"This fire is not over yet," he cautioned. "This fire could come back to life again."