Creek Fire update: First real rain hits Fresno area. What it means for firefighters
Fresno and the Valley awoke Saturday morning to the first significant rain since April.
Rain hit Fresno around 7 a.m. and was centered over the western side of the Valley, moving to the southeast, according to National Weather Service meteorologist David Spector.
The morning storm brought one-tenth of an inch of rain to central Fresno, but very small amounts to Clovis. More rain is expected Sunday.
A handful of minor car collisions were reported across the Fresno area by the California Highway Patrol, though it wasn’t immediately clear if slippery roads caused them.
The rain was expected to end by 10 a.m., though the National Weather Service predicted a 30% chance of showers after 10 p.m. with a low of 44 degrees.
The service also issued a freeze watch for late Sunday night into Monday morning from Bakersfield to Merced. Temperatures could get as low as 28.
Creek Fire weather
The weather brought good news for crews fighting the Creek Fire northeast of Fresno, with light rain and snow falling over the fire Friday night, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s Saturday morning fire update.
Firefighters had feared that strong winds forecast Friday could spread the fire, but winds were not as intense as predicted. There was “relatively little fire spread,” according to the forest service.
More rain and snow is forecast to fall on the fire Saturday and Sunday. Between 4 and 8 inches of snow were predicted at higher elevations, with 1/4 inch to 3/4 inch forecast for lower elevations by Sunday evening.
The precipitation, combined with lower humidity and temperatures forecast to fall below freezing at higher elevations, will all combine to “pull considerable life out of the fire,” said fire behavior analyst Byron Kimball in the emailed update.
The fire has been spreading in the northeast mostly by “spotting” or casting embers that ignite and spread.
“Spotting is going to drop way off,” Kimball said. “Those fine fuels will no longer receptive to ignition.”
Wind and precipitation had cleared smoke out of surrounding communities, according to the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program.
With the forecast weather, “fire season-ending conditions are likely,” it said in a statement Saturday.
A virtual public meeting update on the fire will air live at 7 p.m. Monday on the Sierra National Forest Facebook and the Creek Fire YouTube channel.
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 10:02 AM.
