California Wildfires

Map: More Than Two Dozen Major Wildfires Are Burning in California

At the start of a warm, dry and windy week, 27 major wildfires were burning in California. Here's a look at conditions as September draws to a close.

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The Bobcat Fire continues to burn through the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, north of Azusa, California, September 17, 2020.

After a summer of historic wildfires, California enters one of the most dangerous times of the year for fires with 27 major blazes already burning throughout the state. 

Four of the six largest wildfires on record in California, including the 938,000-acre August Fire in Northern California's Tehama County, began in August. Another started in early September.

Now, firefighters are facing infamous fall winds — including the Santa Ana gusts —  that typically pick up in October and increase the threat of rapidly spreading flames. Red flag warnings are in effect for much of Northern California and some Southern California mountains.

Since the start of the year, there have been more than 8,100 wildfires that have burned well over 3.8 million acres -- far beyond previous years' totals through September. Since Aug. 15, there have been 29 fatalities and more than 7,000 structures destroyed.

Here’s a snapshot of the state’s wildfires burning during the week of Sept. 28.

Zogg Fire

Location: Shasta County, southwest of Redding

Size: More than 40,317 acres

Containment: 0%

Evacuation orders are in place. Three deaths have been reported and more than 140 structures have burned.

Fast-moving fires force evacuations as they sweep through California's wine country.

Glass Fire

Location: Napa County, east of Calistoga

Size: More than 42,560 acres

Containment: 0%

Evacuation orders are in place and additional evacuations are in progress.

LNU Lightning Complex

Location multiple North Bay counties, including Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Colusa, Solano, and Yolo.

Size: More than 363,220 acres

Containment: 98%

Climate change is a factor in the increase in intensity of wildfires, but it's not the only one. Patrick Healy reports for the NBC4 News on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020.

SCU Lightning Complex

Location: Multiple Easy Bay counties, including Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara San Joaquin, Merced, and Stanislaus.

Size: 396,624 acres

Containment: 98%

Butte/Tehama/Glenn (BTU/TGU) Lightning Complex

Location: Butte, Tehama and Glenn counties

Size: 19,609 acres

Containment: 97%

Fourteen structures have been destroyed

North Complex

Location: Plumas County, northeast of Oroville to southwest of Quincy (Plumas National Forest)

Size: 308,995 acres

Containment: 76%

Fifteen deaths have been reported. More than 2,300 structures have been destroyed. Evacuations remain in place. 

Prescribed burning consists of intentionally setting parts of a forest on fire so that when a wildfire does strike, it has less “fuel” to grow. Kristen Shive, director of science at Save the Redwoods League, says that’s a practice that could help with relentless wildfire seasons exacerbated by climate change.

Martindale Fire

Location: Northeast of Santa Clarita in northern LA County

Size: 230 acres

Containment: 23%

Evacuations are in place and buildings remain under threat.

Creek Fire

Location: Fresno County, northeast of Shaver Lake (Sierra National Forest)

Size: 305,240 acres

Containment: 44%

Evacuations in place. More than 850 structures have been destroyed. 

SQF Complex

Location: Tulare County, about three miles east of Giant Sequoia National Monument

Size: 150,286 acres

Containment: 58%

Evacuations are in place. More than 230 structures have been destroyed. 

August Complex

Location: Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama and Trinity counties

Size: 938,044 acres

Containment: 43%

Nearly 90 buildings have been destroyed. This is an expansive group of fires that makes up the largest wildfire on record in California. 

Snow Fire

Location: Riverside County

Size: 6,254 acres

Containment: 95%

El Dorado Fire

Location: San Bernardino County

Size: 22,744 acres

Containment: 93%

One fatality, a firefighter, has been confirmed in connection with this fire, which started at a gender reveal party east of San Bernardino. Ten structures have been destroyed. 

Bobcat Fire

Location: Los Angeles County, Angeles National Forest

Size: 114,200 acres

Containment: 62%

Evacuations in place

Click here for a complete list or refer to the map above. 

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