Western Wildfires Update: NASA Captures Northern California Blazes From Space

Associated Press
Published: August 10,2015




 

Fast-Moving Jerusalem Fire Grows To 5,000 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

CBS Sacramento

NASA released a photo Friday showing the smoke that's been released by the wildfires in Northern California. It shows the tall task that more than 10,000 firefighters face as they battle upwards of 20 major infernos currently burning across bone-dry California.
(MORE: Why You Need a Severe Weather Plan for Outdoor Events)

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of the wildfires burning in Northern California on Aug. 5, 2015.
(NASA)

Here's a rundown of several large fires currently burning across the West.

Rocky Fire Set to Merge With Smaller Blaze

A second Lake County, California wildfire, the Jerusalem fire, broke out Sunday afternoon only a few miles south of the Rocky fire that responders have been fighting since July 29. The Rocky fire was 85 percent contained as of Sunday, according to Cal Fire, and the agency has begun shifting resources to the Jerusalem Valley.
Residents of the valley,  who had been forced out of their homes on July 31 by the larger Rocky fire and allowed to return on Thursday when the area was no longer threatened by the flames, have now been evacuated again.
The Rocky fire is largest blaze to hit California this season burning more than 69,000 acres in Lake, Yolo and Colusa counties and destroying 43 residences, 53 outbuildings and eight other structures. The Jerusalem fire has only encompassed about 5,000 acres so far, but the two fires will likely merge, says Cal Fire Capt. Joe Fletcher.

Firefighter Killed Near Lake Tahoe

A firefighter was killed in the Lake Tahoe area Saturday while battling the so-called Sierra fire.
Michael Hallenbeck, 21, of Shingle Springs, California, died when a tree fell on him around 5:30 p.m., the U.S. Forest Service said. Another firefighter was injured in the incident and was transported to a local hospital.
"The grief we are feeling at the sudden loss of two of our firefighters ... reminds us of the sacrifices these men and women make every day," said Randy Moore, the agency's Pacific Southwest regional forester.
In Northern California, evacuation orders were lifted for 1,200 residents forced to flee their homes as the massive Rocky fire swept through the area.
On July 30, a firefighter was killed by a wildfire in the Modoc National Forest while he scouted the area for ways to fight the blaze. U.S. Forest Service firefighter David Ruhl, of Rapid City, South Dakota, had been on temporary assignment since June in California, where he was an assistant fire management officer for the Big Valley Ranger District.

Sequoia Fire Nearly Contained

In Central California, a wildfire that was previously expanding in the Tulare County portion of the Sequoia National Forest has nearly been contained.
The Forest Service said the blaze has consumed 9 square miles and posed no threat to any structures as of Sunday morning. However, the wildfire, which began with a lightning strike July 31, could have been a major threat to the giant sequoias - the largest trees on Earth - as well as Hume Lake Christian Camp and the surrounding areas if it crossed the Kings River to the south.
About 300 firefighters are focusing their efforts on keeping the wildfire north of the river, Forest Service spokeswoman Linda Hecker told the Fresno Bee.
Hecker said the fire crews are using helicopters to drop water from Hume Lake onto the fire's southern flank in order to keep it from advancing to the Kings River.