California firefighters battling a more than 13,000-acre blaze in the Sierra National Forest north of Sequoia National Monument and near several hydroelectric facilities were finally beginning to contain the blaze Monday afternoon.
After days of being unable to control the fire, crews had the Basin Fire 17% contained.
The wildfire is one of several burning across the state as officials prepare for the longest heat wave so far this year, which is set to begin on Tuesday, two days before the Fourth of July. Forecasters predict hot weather and an increased risk of wildfires.
“As we predicted, we are starting to see an increase in fire activity,” Cal Fire spokesman Robert Foxworthy said. “The primary causes of fires we are seeing now are those that are lighter. Fuel; grass that would have dried out quickly is now dead and susceptible to fire.
Two consecutive wet years brought eye-popping blooms and prairie blooms across the state, but now they’re turning brown in the scorching heat. The grasses have become fuel.
The heat wave is expected to bring dangerous temperatures to many areas during the Fourth of July holiday and into early next week, particularly in Northern California, the Central Valley and the desert Southwest. Much of Fresno County is under a heat warning from Tuesday through July 9, and the National Weather Service does not expect the heat to ease overnight.
Officials have evacuated 159 people in the Sierra National Forest because of the Basin Fire, most of whom live in Balch Camp, a remote community that Pacific Gas & Electric There are facilities there that supply power to the California power grid.
“The fire was very close to the campground, but there was no physical damage to the facility,” PG&E spokesman Denny Boyles said.
The fire started north of Kings River and was discovered on June 26 by an attack aircraft scouting the area for fire activity.
The Basin Fire is one of 18 fires that broke out in the Sierra National Forest on or shortly after June 25 during thunderstorms in the area, but the cause remains under investigation. Most of the fire was ignited in grasslands but burned less than a quarter of an acre.
But the Basin Fire happened. Basin Fire spokesman Mike Lindbery said a total of 951 firefighters were working to control the blaze and prevent it from crossing the river’s south bank, where old-growth redwoods stand.
The Sierra National Forest has issued a temporary closure order effective until July 30.
Burning continues in other parts of the state as well. As of Monday evening, Cal Fire listed 14 ongoing incidents.
A car fire in San Diego County on Thursday is believed to have started a 900-acre brush fire. San Diego Cal Fire spokesman Mike Cornette said the fire, known as the McCain 4 Fire, was still out of control as of 7 p.m. and threatened about 100 structures in Jacumba Hot Springs.
On June 24, hay struck by lightning sparked three separate fires in eastern Fresno County that burned more than 10,000 acres but were contained. As of Monday, Fresno’s June Lightning Complex fire, which scorched the Bear Mountain antenna tower, was 78% contained and evacuation orders had been lifted.
So far this year, 131,483 acres have been burned across the state, an early outbreak of California wildfires. But so far, that’s a fraction of the loss of space and people seen in recent years. Yet Foxworthy said it would only take one wildfire to devastate the area.
In 2018, the Camp Fire became the deadliest fire in California history, killing 86 people. The incident began when a PG&E transmission line failed in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Two years later, wildfires across the state burned 4.3 million acres and killed 33 people.
Foxworthy said Cal Fire has increased its preparedness this summer in the face of an early wildfire season, extreme heat and thick, dry vegetation.
“We have extra personnel,” he said, “so we’re fully staffed now.”
