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While the Park Fire in Butte County may seem like a distant threat to Shasta County residents, the historically hot and dry conditions that pushed that fire to more than 145,000 acres in just three days are already on the ground throughout far Northern California.
Dry conditions out in the forests, brush and oak-covered foothills, combined with a bumper crop of tall, dry grasses have made conditions in Shasta County and the rest of the North State especially dangerous for fire starts, said Brent Wachter, a meteorologist for the Northern California Geographic Coordination Center in Redding, which provides fire weather information for fire agencies throughout the region.
The moisture level in live and dead fuels ― limbs, pine needles, leaves, sticks and other plant material on the forest floor ― are at leaf cracklingly low levels because of the record-breaking high heat this summer .
"That two weeks of basically heatwave conditions in the first half of July just killed us. It really made the fuel bed critically dry in both the live and the dead" fuels, Wachter said.
The number of days in which the high temperature in Redding reached at least 110 degrees set a new record this year. Redding's daily high temperature in July reached 110 degrees 12 times, as of Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
The rainy weather during this past winter and spring hatched another fire danger problem lurking in plain sight in Shasta, Butte and other North State counties, Wachter said.
"The other game changer, and it's certainly being experienced on the Park Fire, at least initially, is the amount of dead grass that we have. We had a really big green up period in late winter and early spring. And it left us with an abundance of dead grasses, and it's very continuous," Wachter said.
The winds that push fires through the dry grasses and brush are expected blow at speeds of 15 to 20 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph through Friday, Wachter said. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning that is expected to last through Friday at 11 p.m.
Temperatures are expected to cool into the 90s into the weekend, bringing an increase in humidity, weather forecasters said.
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The Park Fire started Wednesday in the Upper Bidwell Park area of Chico, exploded overnight and by Thursday afternoon it had burned 125,000 acres with only 3% containment, according to fire officials. Southerly winds Thursday pushed the fire north.
The blaze has become the largest in California this year , the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. One man has been arrested and accused of starting the blaze , officials said.
Dakari Anderson, a weather service meteorologist in Sacramento, said the winds will be calmer over the weekend as temperatures dip.
“Temperatures will start rising early next week and they will be back to the mid-90s Tuesday and Wednesday of next week,” Anderson said.
With the higher temperatures and dry conditions, Cal Fire has crews in Shasta County held on standby.
Jas Shaw, a Cal Fire spokeswoman, said 17 of its crews have been sent to other fires outside Shasta and Trinity counties, and 10 of those went to assist on the Park Fire.
While some crews are outside the county, another 27 fire engines remain in the area, and local fire agencies are also available to assist in case any new blazes break out, she said.
The Shasta-Trinity National Forest has not sent any crews down to the Park Fire, said Kimberly Hill, a spokeswoman for the forest. She said the national forest also has a red flag warning and crews are on alert due to the windy and dry conditions.
"Resources, engines, and personnel have been strategically staged throughout the forest and we have extended our staffing hours so that we may rapidly respond to any new starts. We would like to remind everyone to follow all current fire restrictions in the forest to help prevent any fires," Hill said.
Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @damonarthur_RS . Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today !
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: 'Just killed us:' Shasta County fire conditions mimic those on the 145,000-acre Park Fire
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