Fires Burn 560,000 Acres in California, Destroy Over 1800 Structures including homes

Whether it's global warming or just seasonal, this has been a particularly bad fire season in California. Sections of a major city, Redding, have burned. In Mendocino, life in another urban area has been disrupted and changed by the blazes. Fire tornadoes featuring winds of 143 miles per hour have been recorded.

This release from CalFire:

To date, these fires have burned over 559,000 acres and damaged or destroyed over 1,800 structures. 17,000 homes continue to be threatened by these fires, and nearly 45,000 residents are under evacuation.

In Northern California, low pressure will be offshore to the west and strong high pressure will be centered over the Desert Southwest. The low pressure area will bring a chance of thunderstorms in the far north. Areas from the Cascade-Sierra Crest east will see southwest-west gusts of 40 mph and higher late today. These winds will die off later tonight. In Southern California, a trough dropping into Northern California from the Pacific Northwest will bring westerly winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph through Sunday morning. These winds will decrease to 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph Sunday afternoon and evening and then become light by Monday morning. Temperatures will be near to a little above normal today.

If you need to evacuate, go early to avoid being caught in fire, smoke or road congestion. Evacuating the fire area early also helps firefighters keep roads clear of congestion, and lets them move more freely to do their job. In an intense wildfire, they will not have time to knock on every door. If you are advised to leave, don't hesitate! An emergency supply kit should be ready to go at a moment's notice. Be sure to include enough supplies for at least three days. Learn more about what to pack in your Emergency Supply Kit, click here.

Fires of Interest:

Carr Fire, Shasta County (more info...)

Whiskeytown & Redding

• 131,896 acres, 39% contained

• Evacuations and road closures in place

• 15,000 residents evacuated, over 1,600 homes threatened

• 1,067 residences destroyed, 189 residences damaged

• Carr is now the 6th most destructive fire, 13th most deadly and 20th largest fire in state history

• Damage assessment is ongoing

• CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 1 (Gouvea) in unified command with Whiskeytown NP (Young), City of Redding FD (Kreider) USFS (Pechota)

Mendocino Complex, Mendocino/Lake County

• 254,982 total acres, 33% contained

• The Mendoncino Complex is now the 5th largest wildfire in state history

• CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 2 (Kavanaugh) in command

• 41 residences destroyed, 10 residences damaged

• 23,000 residents evacuated, over 15,000 structures threatened

River Fire (more info...)

Hopland

• 47,663 acres, 58% contained

• Evacuations and road closures in place

Ranch Fire (more info...)

Ukiah

• 207,319 acres, 23% contained

• Evacuations and road closures in place

Wagner Fire, Mariposa County (more info...)

East of Coulterville

• 22 acres, 50% contained

Creek Fire, Alameda County

Southeast of Sunol

30 acres, 75% contained

Whaleback Fire, Lassen County (more info...)

West of Spaulding (Eagle Lake)

• 18,726 acres, 90% contained

• Evacuations in place

• Unified command USFS NorCal Team 1 (Coots), CAL FIRE (Ferguson)

Ferguson Fire, Mariposa County (more info...)

Yosemite National Park

• 89,633 acres, 35% contained

• Over 600 structures threatened

• Evacuations and road closures remain in effect

• CA Fed IMT-3 (von Tillow) in command

Eel Fire, Mendocino County (more info...)

East of Covelo

• 972 acres, 50% contained

Cranston Fire, Riverside County (more info...)

Hemet

• 13,139 acres, 96% contained

• All evacuations have been lifted

Donnell Fire, Tuolumne County (more info...)

Near Hwy 108, Donnell Lake area

• 5,800 acres, 0% contained

Georges Fire, Inyo County (more info...)

Lone Pine

• 2,883 acres, 70% contained

Horse Creek Fire, Tulare County (more info...)

John Krebs Wilderness Area

• 34 acres, 90% contained

Valley Fire, San Bernardino County (more info...)

Yucaipa

• 1,350 acres, 30% contained

Natchez Fire, Del Norte County (more info...)

Southeast of Cave Junction, OR

• 8,432 acres, 15% contained

Eagle Fire, Modoc County (more info...)

South of Cedarville

• 2,100 acres, 95% contained

Owens Fire, Mono County

North of Mammoth Lake

• 312 acres, 95% contained