1,000 Lightning Strikes Trigger CA Wildfires: Fire Season Has Arrived

CALIFORNIA — More than 1,000 dry lightning strikes set off a trio of wildfires within three hours in Northern California this week, and blazes charred tens of thousands of acres across Southern California amid the region's first heat wave of the summer.

Despite or, perhaps, because of a robust winter and early spring storms, wildfire season is off to a roaring start in the Golden State — and more trouble could lie ahead. Cal Fire identified nine active wildfires across the state as of Wednesday afternoon. It's less than a week into the official start of summer and already wildfires have blackened more than 100,000 acres in the Golden State this year. With Independence Day a week away, the wildfire danger is expected to remain high.

"With new vegetation growth, dryness may increase from mid-May to June, potentially leading to more small fires, with the chances of larger fires depending on wind conditions," Cal Fire cautioned in its seasonal fire year outlook earlier this year. "While there are no immediate signs of drought or dryness, this could change as temperatures rise and conditions dry out. Additionally, the annual Southwest Monsoon season might start late, impacting lightning-related fire risk in Northern California later in the year."

In the Central Valley, lightning ignited three wildfires in Eastern Fresno County on Tuesday, comprising the Fresno June Lightning Complex. The three fires burned more than 7,000 acres by Wednesday morning and were just 15 percent contained. Mandatory evacuations and warnings remained in place in multiple areas near Elwood Road.

According to Cal Fire, the largest of Calfironia's nine active wildfires is the Post Fire, which ignited June 15 and has burned 15,563 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, destroying two buildings. In an update Monday, Cal Fire said the fire was 90 percent contained.

A brush fire that sparked Monday in Riverside County quickly burned through dry fuels before firefighters were able to tamp it out at five acres.

In the Bay Area, a wind-whipped fire ripped across 34 acres of dry vegetation in Newark on Tuesday afternoon, knocking out power for thousands and halting train traffic as the flames neared Union Pacific Railroad tracks. Alameda County fire crews declared the fire fully contained by 7 p.m.

Another fire ignited Wednesday morning in Alameda County near Altamont Pass and spread to 20 acres within an hour. Cal Fire reported the fire's forward progress had stopped shortly before 10:30 a.m.

A brush fire that sparked Tuesday in San Diego's Del Mar Heights prompted mandatory evacuations for 2,500 residents as crews fought flames from the ground and air. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said Wednesday morning that the fire was 50 percent contained after burning 23 acres. Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.

Elsewhere in the state, the Lavender Fire burning in Kern County and Crabtree Fire burning in Stanislaus County ignited Tuesday and were listed at 0 percent containment Wednesday morning, having burned 110 and 54 acres respectively.

In NorCal, the Apache Fire sparked Monday night south of Oroville in Butte County and ballooned to hundreds of acres in just a few hours, spurring evacuation orders around the community of Palermo. As of Wednesday morning, Cal Fire said hundreds of firefighters had the flames 47 percent contained at 691 acres, with evacuation orders downgraded to warnings.