Tuesday, June 30, 2015

In 24 Hours, Lightning Sparks Three Dozen New Fires In Northern California

Sean Breslin
Published: June 30,2015 



 
In an area that's as dry as northern California, all it takes is a spark to create a raging inferno.
That's why firefighters were on edge Sunday as thunderstorms moved through the Golden State. With countless dead trees and plants along the parched landscape, every lightning strike was a new opportunity to start a new wildfire.
Storms fire up near the California-Nevada border on the night of Saturday, June 27, 2015.
According to the Los Angeles Times, some 800 lightning strikes happened in a 24-hour span in northern California, initiating about three dozen new fires.
(MORE: Sleepy Hollow Fire Destroys Two Dozen Homes In Washington)
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told CBS San Francisco that the fires were quickly put out, but it's a sign of things to come in a long fire season. More than 94 percent of California is in severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and the state's vegetation is dying out, providing more fuel for the fires.
Conditions have reached such dire levels that firefighters have stopped controlled burns of brush piles, the L.A. Times also reported. These piles of dead vegetation are a fire crew's worst nightmare, as they can allow a blaze to spread quickly, but it's just too dry to safely burn them off, the report added.
California should have a couple of days without stormy weather, but it's possible that the lightning will return after that.
"Although an upper-level high-pressure system will stay in place across the West into this weekend, portions of northern California will be on the periphery of this high where disturbances will rotate through from time to time," said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. "Those disturbances may lead to the development of some thunderstorms, particularly across higher terrain locations, especially late in the week."
MORE: The Sleepy Hollow Fire In Central Washington

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