The Sierra Nevada received 3,051 lightning strikes in the past 24 hours, with 1,544 strikes recorded on National Forests.

Friday, July 26, 2013

The Sierra Nevada received 3,051 lightning strikes in the past 24 hours, with 1,544 strikes recorded on National Forests.

California Lightning Strike Map

The Tahoe National Forest received 132 strikes between 2:30 and 7:30 pm, 98 on the Sierraville Ranger District and 34 for Truckee Ranger District.

The lightning activity is sparking wildfires and mudslides. Several lightning-caused fires are burning in the southern and central Sierra and I80 was closed for several hours due to a mudslide.

The weather outlook calls for isolated afternoon and evening thunderstorms, with light to heavy rains and hail.

For the weekend, a drier SW to NW flow associated with a Pacific NW trough will stabilize and locally cool our weather Sunday into mid next week. This same change will likely increase SW to West afternoon winds east of the Cascade/ Sierras, according to the fire weather forecast.

Yesterday, 19 fires in Northern California, mostly lightning-caused, burned a total of 54 acres. Since the beginning of 2013, 2,454 fires have consumed a total of 20,636 acres. 2,298 of those fires were human-caused and responsible for 20,213 acres burned.

In Southern California, 2,825 fires charred 82,532 acres. Of those, 2,727 fires were human-caused and burned 80,498 acres.

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CFN - California Fire News 2013

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, July 26, 2013