Fires
Creek Fire updates, Oct. 25: ‘Extreme fire activity is possible,’ power outages planned
Critical fire weather conditions are expected in the Creek Fire region and beyond Sunday evening through Tuesday evening due to strong easterly winds and low humidity, prompting a red flag warning from the National Weather Service.
The warning is in effect from 5 p.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Tuesday and covers the central and southern Sierra Nevada and foothills.
“Extreme fire activity is possible,” Creek Fire officials said, “and if there is a new start or the fire escapes containment lines you can expect rapid rates of spread.”
NWS officials said outdoor burning is not recommended. Wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible, with northeast to east winds from 20 to 30 mph. Humidity is expected at 5% to 10%.
Creek Fire officials said these gusty northeast winds trail a mostly dry cold front with a low chance of light showers or snow at high elevations Sunday night.
“Winds decrease Tuesday with a warming and drying trend expected by mid-week as high pressure builds back over the region,” fire officials said.
PG&E power outages
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is turning off electricity for 361,000 customers in parts of 36 counties and 17 tribal communities for safety reasons due to these weather conditions, what PG&E described in a news release Sunday as the “highest winds and driest conditions of the season.”
Here’s how many PG&E customers that could experience a public safety power shutoff in the central San Joaquin Valley and neighboring Sierra Nevada and foothill areas:
Madera County: 10,792 customers, and 858 Medical Baseline customers (what PG&E defines as residential customers who depend on power for certain medical and independent living needs).
Fresno County: 4,712 customers, 408 Medical Baseline customers.
Mariposa County: 703 customers, 14 medical baseline customers.
Kern County: 627 customers, 32 Medical Baseline customers.
Big Sandy Rancheria: 61 customers, two Medical Baseline customers.
Cold Springs Rancheria of Mono Indians: 54 customers, five Medical Baseline customers.
North Fork Rancheria: 25 customers, three Medical Baseline customers.
PG&E said power would begin to be turned off at 10 a.m. Sunday, starting with customers in the Northern Sierra, and would continue into late Monday evening.
“Weather is expected to subside Monday morning for the majority of customers, and by Tuesday morning for the remainder,” PG&E said. “Once it does and it is safe to do so, PG&E will patrol the de-energized lines to determine if they were damaged during the wind event and repair any damage found. PG&E will then safely restore power in stages and as quickly as possible, with the goal of restoring power to nearly all customers within 12 daylight hours after severe weather has passed.”
Customers can look up their address online at pge.com/pspsupdates to see if their location might lose electricity. More resources for customers are available at pgecurrents.com.
Creek Fire firefighters prepare for strong winds
Creek Fire officials said firefighters Sunday will focus on “improving and strengthening any lines potentially threatened by the upcoming wind event.”
The historic wildfire – the largest single fire incident in California history – had burned 365,714 acres and was 61% contained as of Sunday morning. The cause remains under investigation.
Fire officials said the wildfire continues to burn in the Ansel Adams Wilderness with large amounts of smoke.
“The Creek Fire currently does not pose a threat to Mammoth Lakes and the upcoming wind event will push any uncontained fire away from Mammoth,” fire officials said, adding that portions of the fire between Pincushion Mountain and Vermilion have almost burned together.
“There has been continued eastward movement along the north shore of Lake Thomas Edison,” officials continued, “but this is also hemmed in by rock outcrops. The far northern area of the fire has moved into areas of granite outcrops and there has been little or no spread for over a week.”
The southern end of the fire was unstaffed from the San Joaquin River to Shaver Lake, officials said. Crews are also continuing to work on structure protection around the Vermilion Valley Resort area.
Joe Appleton, a Creek Fire spokesman, said Sunday morning that there was fire growth Saturday, “more than we’ve seen in several days,” in the Fish Creek area north of Lake Edison, but that rock barriers were helping prevent further spread to the northeast.
Further south, erosion control, repairing fire lines, removing brush, and working to protect water quality is continuing.
Appleton said there’s a lot of smoke in the Mammoth Lakes area that will soon be pushed southwest.
Valley air district health caution due to dust, smoke
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued a health caution for the region due to gusty winds causing blowing dust and continued wildfire smoke.
It will be in effect through Monday for Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, air officials announced in a news release Sunday.
“Exposure to particulate matter pollution can trigger asthma attacks, aggravate chronic bronchitis, and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke,” air officials said. “Individuals with heart or lung disease should follow their doctors’ advice for dealing with episodes of PM exposure. Those with existing respiratory conditions, including COVID-19, young children and the elderly, are especially susceptible to the health effects from this form of pollution.”
People experiencing poor air quality should move indoors to a filtered, air-conditioned environment with the windows closed. Common cloth and paper masks used for COVID-19 concerns “may not protect them from wildfire smoke.”
Air quality readings at various locations can be checked via myRAAN.com.
“District air monitoring stations are designed to detect microscopic PM 2.5 particles that exist in smoke,” air officials said. “However, larger particles, such as ash, may not be detected. If you smell smoke or see falling ash in your immediate vicinity, consider air quality “unhealthy” (RAAN Level 4 or higher) even if RAAN displays lower level of pollution.”
The air district said smoke impacts from California wildfires, including the Creek Fire and SQF Complex in Tulare County, are expected to continue until the fires are extinguished. More information is available at valleyair.org/wildfires.
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