Rolling Western U.S. Is On Fire / Wildfires Thread

scary stuff in northern california right now. we're approaching the peak of it but wildfire season gets longer every year.

still two months or so to go before the rains hit Oregon. yeah, scary shit

this wildfire smoke map / forecast is wild:

https://airquality.weather.gov/sectors/conus.php

that interface is wonky but the "vertical smoke integration" forecast seems to show smoke drifting all the way to the lower mississippi valley.

miraculously, we have not gotten serious smoke in Eugene yet. last year was much worse, but I think it's just pure chance (and weather patterns) that we aren't totally inundated at this point.

The #CarrFire that is burning through Redding, CA has now destroyed nearly 1,000 homes.

It's still just 20% contained and has burned an area *three times the size of San Francisco*.

Six of the 20 most destructive fires in California history have happened in the past 10 months. https://t.co/BcK4gNmnPX

— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) July 30, 2018

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DjZpEKYUYAII-qS.jpg:large

Was in Ashland, OR last week, which is about two hours north, and the smoke was so bad is was classified as "hazardous." Lots of people wearing masks, or at least staying indoors. Related, we were in Santa Rosa, too, which was hit super hard last year, but aside form a few "thank you" monuments to firefighters I never would have guessed.

from a friend, and I totally buy this theory"

[Now these developers are starting arson fires in Cali to force people to flee north where these prices are “normal”!

Sixteen thousand rental units in Portland are sitting empty

http://www.registerguard.com/news/20180820/wildfire-smoke-to-degrade-lane-countys-air-quality-to-unhealthy-levels

Seattle:

https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/NASA-Vancouver-Fire-thumbnail-620x467.jpg

Missouri man flies to California, sets 13 wildfires, then tries to fly home, cops say

https://www.kansascity.com/latest-news/s6tqdm/picture235504772/alternates/FREE_768/Screen%20Shot%202019-09-26%20at%2011.44.07%20A_fitted.jpeg

After he was arrested, Graham told investigators he and his wife had planned to drive along Calaveras Road near the reservoir together before her death in 2018, according to the news outlet. A report by investigators states: “Because she passed away and could not be with him, it made him emotional, starting the fires.”

The blackouts, which were projected to begin early Wednesday just after midnight, were likely to affect parts of San Jose, Oakland and Berkeley but not San Francisco or Sacramento, PG&E said. https://t.co/myow89C8eu

— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) October 8, 2019

"Can't blame us for fires if we shut off the power grid"
Roll-Safe-tapping-finger-to-head.jpg

PGE recently spent $79 million on lobbying, got $1 billion in tax rebates, made a profit of $4.8 billion and hiked executive pay 94% https://t.co/ELHZLLlKn2

— reclaim UC (@reclaimuc) October 9, 2019

Saddleridge fire being investigated as caused by sparking SCE electrical tower despite residential outages.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-13/saddleridge-fire-electrical-tower-investigated-possible-ignition-point

This is normal right?

Black smoke and fire from Nustar Energy refinery pic.twitter.com/nuuCOuiVS9

— KTVU (@KTVU) October 15, 2019

I guess this isn't technically a wildfire but still (wait for it...):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u4BeyqyP8o

I have to say, between the fires and now smoke from a burning refinery, this ad is in pretty poor taste for Californians. #smokeandmirrors#banSUVs https://t.co/RrLBRrM9Ow

— Dr Kristina Hill 🏳️‍🌈 (@kzhill) October 15, 2019

There are approximately 42 fire units at Nu Star incident from agencies around the Bay including- Contra Costa County Fire, Crockett Fire, Rodeo-Hercules Fire, Pinole Fire, Richmond Fire, CAL FIRE and the East Bay Regional Park District and overhead from the East Bay IMT.

— Con Fire PIO (@ContraCostaFire) October 16, 2019

Interstate-80 is the major conduit from the SF Bay Area to Sacramento & beyond...

https://i.imgur.com/jNYX0hs.png

...and is forecasted to be closed for another 6+ hours.

More PG&E power outages coming over the next few days, some could last as long as 48 hours.

Outages already reported in Northern Sonoma County.

The wind woke me up early. Reminded me of how it was the night of the Tubbs fire. First thing I did when I woke up was check to see if there was a fire and wasn’t too surprised.

possibly no bueno with the Getty Fire in L.A., w/the strongest Santa Anas of the year supposedly arriving tonight. the air quality seems to be okay around the city, i assume the winds are blowing the smoke out to the ocean.

there are a dozen or so people on my FB marking themselves "safe" from this fire despite most living in idk Highland Park or Silver Lake or East Hollywood.

haha i assume it's to ward off calls or messages from family who live out of the area?

I heard some terrifying dystopian references (2nd-hand w/o source) about people trapped in their "smart" homes as flames approached, because the power outage meant the "smart" locks couldn't be opened, and the internet was down so they couldn't reach anyone for help?

any source or link for that wld be appreciated

I would think any door would have to have a failsafe way to open from the inside, for a house fire, etc.

I would think any door would have to have a failsafe way to open from the inside, for a house fire, etc.

that's a pretty non-contestable requirement of CA Fire Code for buildings

and we all know how much rich techbro assholes feel about public safety regulations

Cue Silicon Valley Jared and the driverless car scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UBdrMTxsvs

if you die in a fire because of your "smarthome" maybe you... aren't that smart

"Open the pod doors HAL"

SF is on fire and TIME is on it (view quickly before it is deleted):

As fires continue to ravage different parts of California, watch as firefighters face massive flames in San Francisco pic.twitter.com/lFjNOQiBqV

— TIME (@TIME) October 29, 2019

lol

The Zack House by Craig Elwood burned by the Getty fire in Los Angeles.

https://www.facebook.com/KCMODERN/photos/pcb.2525595454199945/2525593230866834/?type=3&theater

xp RIP Time tweet

the reagan library is now threatened by the blazes

bump

CalFire admits in presser this morning that they have NO resources to fight this. Like, NONE. Guess why? Bc the prison populations, who have for decades been California’s primary firefighter hand-crews on wildfires, are too sick with Covid to go. https://t.co/ZZKIpsN5lc

— RH Herron/Rachael Herron (@RachaelHerron) August 19, 2020

well, not exactly NONE. but yeah, that is bleak. $2 to $5 a fucking day for the work, too, which probably makes it the highest paid position available for them

it would be disgusting even if they weren't exposing themselves to immediate and long term danger for that wage. absolutely unconscionable.

https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-climate-danger-of-kamala-harris-prison-labor-legac-1844712734 this suggests it's $5/hour? not that it makes a difference. (n.b. in spite of myself i don't place much of the blame for this on kamala herself, article doesn't do a great job of explaining how the AG's office got to the point of filing that. however, it's not justifiable.)

Anyone know the likelihood of Santa Cruz city having to evacuate? My sister lives there, and this is cranking up her nervousness...

(caveat that i'm just some guy, not a firefighter) It's not too close yet but I'd be concerned about the cluster that just broke out south of Henry Cowell State Park (https://www.esri.com/en-us/disaster-response/disasters/wildfires) . CalFire's general policy is to greatly favor protecting residential areas over parks so I wouldn't be surprised if they're already doing controlled burns around UC Santa Cruz.

xp: She should be fine if she's in town. If she's up the coast or in the hills off Hwy 9 she's probably already evac'd.

I don’t really want to reveal where I live (not Santa Cruz) but um I have a bag packed. 😬

DJI: this account has all the latest information

https://twitter.com/CALFIRECZU/

that's the one I know

i still get nextdoor emails from where i used to live in the colorado rockies and there are fires up there nearly constantly what a mess

xp the arcgis one i don't like because it doesn't actually simulate the smoke plumes moving in a forecast timeline, it just outlines areas that are smokey right now. if you haven't seen what i'm talking about, it's pretty cool (and useful!). just click that long-ass link above and then select "VI Smoke" at the bottom of the "Surface" menu (under "Miscellaneous") ("VI Smoke" stands for "vertically integrated smoke" and it gives you everything in the atmosphere).

smoke from a big one in oregon (emigrant fire) is currently arcing down into the wasatch front - gonna be pretty smokey here for at least the next two days.

I thought that old one shut down, but it looks like it still works?

https://fire.airnow.gov/#3.71/41.36/-82.56

I swear, this fucking idiot they arrested for starting the Palisades fire -- whole thread is full of wonders but to start:

https://bsky.app/profile/davidingram.bsky.social/post/3m2patkh6ns22

This detail about the Palisades arrest is wild:
While on the phone with 911, Rinderknecht allegedly typed a question into ChatGPT: “Are you at fault if a fire is lift because of your cigarettes,” according to the criminal complaint.

Yeah, the details in this are nuts.

sorry this is the exact opposite of wildfires, the southwest has had quite a bit of flooding lately due to tropical storms moving north from the gulf of california, and this blurry pic of a hot tub floating away near pagosa springs nm tickled me:

https://scontent.fslc3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/561093002_1335212041302602_4603585277220757027_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=pF-sWL8HT20Q7kNvwF7U73k&_nc_oc=AdlUmKuwDdG5ux1WLG9qSHslgLxp8v6-Q0exv31ptm5mL_DxOxvGTwXx4JGVPN7MlRPklIICbi5eZkaH7VssS9Ac&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.fslc3-1.fna&_nc_gid=bpTvnlE8M8buEtihV5sB8g&oh=00_AffPuMKB9nVA88nZye50RofL_aNSyHyuV5TioSAE2V4Wzg&oe=68F1F333

pagosa springs is in co not nm.

what happens when utah red rock areas get heavy rain:

https://scontent.fslc3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/558840745_817969380973399_3296424165109681379_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=9x7NC6ca6WEQ7kNvwEfvqUq&_nc_oc=Adm-wjldAgatsuwVhSlGUJgrvRQ4Pnw1JQqkRg8zd9kbIcKtIhGNblFMuR9ph1p46cE-J6Z2kX7IPAHBQ-1_5Wln&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.fslc3-1.fna&_nc_gid=FDzqOiJphhcmUMrgPOp6Jw&oh=00_AfdAfr_37zDSuRp-y48vQd6BIv09ZN372I3uR8h5C9-BEg&oe=68F1F451

yeah the hot tub photo was very striking

windy, dry, snowpack almost gone - fires popping up all over the colorado plateau this week. no huge ones - yet.

Yeah - our local utility company Pacific Gas & Electric has already given warnings about power shutoffs in several California counties: Napa, Sonoma, Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo

High winds, heat and really low humidity

power shutoffs are now a part of life up and down the west coast. never used to be that way for most of my life.

Yeah - our local utility company Pacific Gas & Electric has already given warnings about power shutoffs in several California counties: Napa, Sonoma, Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo

High winds, heat and really low humidity

honestly, for many of these places, controlled burns really need to become a regular part of fire management, and if that means buying out some people and moving them around to save lives, then so be it.

lived in Tehama for a while, honestly wouldn’t wish that environment on most people lmfao

watching these get worse every summer makes me feel like a frog in boiling water

i-15 shut down both directions near scipio ut

dang

two large fires just south of caliente, nevada, an area i was hoping to get to in the next year.

and last night the mountain right above the u of u caught fire. i had no idea until i was driving to park city this morning!

not strictly speaking a wildfire but the lineage logistics warehouse fire in the boyle heights neighborhood of LA has been burning for five days now with no signs of stopping anytime soon and it’s been awful. woke up to a smoky apartment on Saturday and Sunday, could still see plumes of gray smoke in the distance on my commute this morning.

wow that sucks - sorry!

oof is it possibly toxic?

we have a very intense one, "iron fire" close to some old mining towns.

https://scontent-den2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.99422-6/728449815_1554009166159626_7249587345737073131_n.png?stp=dst-jpg_tt6&cstp=mx960x720&ctp=s960x720&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=wjHk8UgGmjUQ7kNvwHoT0Ez&_nc_oc=AdqWiEkJRzw7uZaDgP1kgN-YFZci-xyCm8eedwYV8otTfoPtzCetz3yEd9y52oLWBEw&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-den2-1.xx&_nc_gid=3RG9D6_wG82EeqFFkW-Gkw&_nc_ss=7b2a8&oh=00_Af_sajw2niWisMJRQvzzGpbnM2o4g6FiTrsVyg8QfTC0vw&oe=6A3F5259

Whoa

That fire in Boyle Heights is def pretty nasty, I woke up Saturday morning and stepped outside and the air was rancid.

authorities have claimed the toxic stuff has been removed but as with all such claims i have my doubts. also there’s apparently millions of pounds of perishable food in this building that’s about to start going rancid, so there’s that to look forward to as well

this same company had a building go up in flames in rural Washington in 2024 and it took about two months for them to extinguish it fully, and everyone in the surrounding area was suffering from headaches, nausea, bronchitis, emphysema, etc.

it's crazy to me that a warehouse can catch fire and they are not able to put it out for days on end

utah's getting pummeled right now, two more big ones in the last few days. sky over slc looking very hazy.

it's crazy to me that a warehouse can catch fire and they are not able to put it out for days on end

― Cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria de Episcopio, Monday, June 22, 2026 9:10 PM

Idk how old that warehouse was but actually little compartmentalized rooms and insulated walls are horrible for holding in secret fires and/or not allowing the water + fire retardants to get where they need to go. Over 20 years ago an old warehouse in Jersey City caught on fire (it was abandoned and being squatted in iirc) and it was HORRIFIC because the walls were insulated with CORK and the fire got in between the walls. Took ages and tons of fire teams to get it out.

The freaky thing about this industrial fire, there are no birds flying around today. They seem to have vacated the area. At least where I am.

the cottonwood fire east of beaver in the tushars went crazy, went from 0 to 60,000 acres in 3 days, gobbled up a ski resort. still at 0% containment.

i don't understand why "human-caused" is a meaningful distinction. it only matters as far as i can tell so that everyone who needs to redirect blame can blame the crazy person / criminal while the fires get worse every year.

you could make an argument that the real 'human-caused' problems are the decades of absolute fire suppression in areas that really should be allowed to burn occasionally, and the over-development in these areas

it's interesting to see old photos of the hills near Oakland that were almost denuded of trees before the city was developed... I read somewhere that indians would start fires all the time, like every year. Now there are trees almost everywhere, including a lot of invasive trees

i don't understand why "human-caused" is a meaningful distinction. it only matters as far as i can tell so that everyone who needs to redirect blame can blame the crazy person / criminal while the fires get worse every year.

If it’s not human-caused (ie is not a result of our consumption of hydrocarbons etc but instead is just one of those temperature fluctuations that have happened over geological time) then there’d be no reason to amend our behaviour, reduce carbon emissions, leave oil in the ground etc.

That might be obvious but that’s why the issue is a real one.

in my experience of seeing reporting on wildfires, especially in tv and print media, if there is a person directly responsible for starting the fire - willfully (arsonist) or carelessly (cigarette) - that becomes the headline, and that is what is explicitly meant by "human-caused." my experience is that this also tends to distract from what is actually responsible for the wildfire on a macro level, which is fossil fuel consumption etc.

what i keep running into with this issue and with others is that humans seem to believe that individual will, responsibility and agency somehow just get added together to make up collective will, responsibility and agency, and i don't think it works that way at all. as in dr. lorax - "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” Like, I just don't think this moral calculus is 1) possible, 2) drives actual change. You know what would drive change? Money for vasectomies.

Dealing with poverty would be a much more effective way of mitigating overpopulation than funding vasectomies IMO but that’s a side issue.

In the main point you’re absolutely right and I half-drunkenly replied to a point you didn’t make (sorry) - here in the uk when I hear the phrase “human-caused” it’s in respect of climate change which is what I thought you were talking about. And you weren’t.

haha well i get it, no worries. and dealing with poverty - definitely.

fireworks banned statewide - hell yeah, hoping for a quiet 4th.

https://www.fox13now.com/weather/particularly-dangerous-situation-red-flag-announced-for-southwest-utah

The National Weather Service issued Utah's first "Particularly Dangerous Situation" Red Flag Warning for much of southwest Utah as winds are expected to pick up Friday.

"Extremely critical" fire weather conditions are expected across much of use, northwestern Arizona, and far southeastern Nevada on Friday. This is the first "particularly dangerous situation" Red Flag Warning issued for Utah.

Those involve wind gusts to 50 miles per hour and relative humidity values as low as 8 percent.

Also, pardon the X link:

Below is a map of central and southern Utah and the current Red Flag Warnings in effect.  All areas in pink have a high risk for rapid fire growth if a fire starts. Areas outlined in purple are of most concern and are in a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS). #utwx pic.twitter.com/XyYu16qgYd

— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) June 25, 2026

yeah i've never seen a Particularly Dangerous Situation designation from noaa. feel like they're making this up as they go lol.

we did get a strong cold front come through with some rain but isolated storms really aren't any match for accumulated conditions.

a lot of activity now in the colorado plateau area. 3 wildland firefighters died over the weekend fighting one of the mesa fires near the ut / co border.

-_-

https://scontent-den2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/732001609_1069145392450398_597765441251469089_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_tt6&cstp=mx943x2048&ctp=s943x2048&_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=tzSmuTcE828Q7kNvwG51PnG&_nc_oc=AdpwxIRLYjqcRWfsbBGocBKGbsMWyQXityB4sR7VSU8Mhf3gButUQ84pFQyr2uvesFk2aH9VecqoD6Fmbx75PGLD&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-den2-1.xx&_nc_gid=nfd9k4WsZjlalARilcEDDQ&_nc_ss=7a2a8&oh=00_Af-1nTxIdfd68SwMPcUMtDgw-0ZI1jAcfx8yLyzGrikzMQ&oe=6A478CBA

the main theory for why all of these ancestral puebloan settlements around the colorado plateau just abandoned ship over the course of 100 years around 1300 a.d. was a big climate shift (drought). i've been thinking about that a lot lately.

i follow the fb account of a small town called marysville, on the other side of the tushars which is where the cottonwood fire is (still 0% containment and like 90,000 acres). they've been placed on ready status. but that account - i'm not clear if it's official in any way - keeps posting things like "it's a beautiful day in marysvale! come through and visit, everything's hunky dory, clear skies and all! lots of misinformation about the fire - it isn't going to threaten us at all, it's clear over on the other side of the mountain!" then they posted a photo of a horrible little wooden garden tchochke of a stereotypical native american figure with a headdress someone had made for their little main street "arts and crafts" shop which is sure to do like $500 in business and then collapse by the end of the year. yeah, come to marysville, ride your fuckin four-wheeler through the million-acre cow farm and don't forget to buy a racist garden thotchke from our fine artisans before you go! so pathetic.

sad days in southeastern utah. babylon fire in bears ears national monument is a monster.

we've been pretty lucky when it comes to smoke. maybe 3-4 bad days total so far. flow has generally been northeast and the fires are mostly south and east of us. i feel bad for colorado though.

not precisely on-topic but i'm told the lake powell situation is extremely bad?

what are the options

run out of water

Read this just now

https://www.newsweek.com/lake-powell-should-be-drained-to-save-lake-mead-scientists-say-12167251

😬

Hayduke Lives

haha

turns out hayduke is a rain goddess and she's fn pissed