National Weather Service

The fires in the inland parts of Humboldt, Trinity and Del Norte counties continue barely abated this afternoon. Updates from fire managers continue to pour automatically into the Outpost’s ”Elsewhere” section. If you’re out in the burn zone and looking for the latest, that’s a good place to check.

But there is a bevy of updates from other sources, so let’s dig in.

FIRES

This afternoon, Calfire sent out a pretty good stats overview of firefighting efforts around the state. Here are the locally relevant ones:

Humboldt Lightning Fires, Humboldt County (Blocksburg, Alderpoint)

  • Throughout Humboldt County
  • 75 fires totaling 4,358 acres – 35% contained
  • Evacuations lifted in the Blocksburg area

Mad River Complex, Trinity County (Ruth, Mad River)

  • US Forest Service – Six Rivers National Forest
  • Near Ruth Lake
  • 17,041 acres – 20% contained

River Complex, Trinity County  (Denny, Trinity Village)

  • US Forest Service – Shasta-Trinity National Forest
  • New River Drainage, near Denny
  • 12,524 acres – 8% contained

South Complex, Trinity County (Burnt Ranch, Hyampom)

  • US Forest Service – Shasta-Trinity National Forest
  • Near Hyampom, south of Hwy 299
  • 15,026 acres – 3% contained 

Route Complex, Humboldt & Trinity County (Hyampom)

  • US Forest Service – Six Rivers National Forest
  • West of Hyampom
  • 15,862 acres – 10% contained

Gasquet Complex, Del Norte County (Gasquet)

  • U.S. Forest Service – Six Rivers National Forest
  • On the Gasquet Ranger District
  • 9 fires totaling 1,000 acres – 2% containment

Evacuations

Trinity County has ordered two new mandatory evacuations, in the Kingsbury Gulch and Morgan Hill Road areas near Hayfork. Click here for details on those, and also on all the rest of the mandatory and advisory evacuations in place throughout Trinity County.

Advisory evacuation orders for 10 homes in the Swayback Ridge area are still in effect.

SMOKE

The North Coast Air Quality Management District has issued an alert warning of hazardous breathing conditions in much of Trinity County, and an advisory warning of “unhealthy air” in much of the rest of it, and in Humboldt County too. It is still mostly safe to take coastal air into your lungs, despite the National Weather Service’s smoky satellite image, above. See below for documents and details.

From the district’s current smoke forecast:

Areas of smoke, haze, and degraded air quality are being experienced throughout Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity Counties due to numerous wildfires. It is anticipated that some smoke from fires in Oregon will head southward and add to the smoke from local fires.

Weather forecasts show low pressure system moving through the region Friday, which will bring continued offshore flow. The low pressure will improve smoke dispersion but result in an increase in fire activity and smoke. Expect increased smoke levels and similar conditions to Thursday. Smoke will likely settle in nearby canyons, valleys, and basins causing poor air quality. Air quality monitors in the Eureka area continue to show good to moderate air quality.

Documents