CA Wildfires 2021: See A Map Of All Fires Burning

PLACERVILLE, CA — More than a dozen massive blazes have decimated parts of Northern California in the last few weeks, sending more than 13,000 firefighters to the front lines and prompting federal officials to announce plans to shut down nine national forests.

Several massive blazes prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to request a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration Monday to bolster state and local wildfire response across seven counties: Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity.

The governor's request is geared specifically at battling California's most catastrophic fires so far this season — the Dixie, Antelope, McFarland, Monument and River fires.

An interactive map created and updated by the National Alliance for Public Safety GIS Foundation shows where all active fires are burning. The map shows recently contained fires and regions that have a red flag warning in place.

While the map does not show evacuation routes, the foundation also maintains a spreadsheet with updated evacuation maps in areas that apply.

The Caldor Fire, which sparked just one week ago, may be added to that list if it continues to rage out of control. Over the weekend, the fire forced thousands to evacuate and has already ripped through more than 106,000 acres.

"We are deploying every available tool we have to keep communities safe as California battles these catastrophic wildfires driven by climate change impacts," Newsom said. "Even while the fires continue to burn, we are working to put assistance programs in place for impacted individuals to support their recovery from these devastating fires."

California's biggest fire, the Dixie, has charred 725,821 acres and was 40 percent contained on Monday. In just over a month, the blaze became the second-largest wildfire in state history. Pacific Gas & Electric equipment may have ignited the Dixie Fire, according to a report released by the utility.

READ MORE: CA College Professor Charged In Setting Blazes Near Dixie Fire

Last month, a repair man reportedly spotted what he suspected to be a blown fuse while he was responding to an outage in Feather River Canyon off of Highway 70 in Oroville. Due to rough terrain and road work, the worker could not reach the pole for several hours, the utility said. By the time he reached the area, two or three blown fuses may have sparked a fire at the base of a healthy green tree leaning on the pole that held the conductor.

The second-largest active blaze in the state, the Monument Fire, has burned 150,011 acres in the Trinity National Forest and was 20 percent contained Monday, Cal Fire reported.

"We know this fire has done things that nobody could have predicted, but that’s how firefighting has been in the state this year,” Eldorado National Forest Supervisor Chief Jeff Marsolais said.

Northern fires have collectively destroyed at least 700 homes and sent thousands of Northern California residents fleeing them. The Dixie Fire all but leveled the historic town of Greenville

In Southern California, the French Fire, burning northeast of Bakersfield in Kern County, also exploded over the weekend, charring more than 13000 acres. The fire spurred evacuation orders for the entire town of Wofford Heights Sunday night.

These massive fires may burn well into December with much of the state steeped in "exceptional" drought, according to Anthony Scardina, deputy regional forester for the Forest Service, Fox News reported.

On Friday, the U.S. Forest Service announced the closure of nine national forests in the state during the week leading up to the Labor Day Holiday.

The order will shut down the following national forests in California:

• Klamath National Forest.
• Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.
• Lassen National Forest.
• Mendocino National Forest.
• Modoc National Forest.
• Plumas National Forest.
• Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
• Six Rivers National Forest.
• Tahoe National Forest.

"We do not take this decision lightly and understand how this impacts people who enjoy recreating on the National Forests," Regional Forester Jennifer Eberlien said in a written statement. "These temporary closures are necessary to ensure public and firefighter safety, as well as reduce the potential for new fire starts."

Historic drought and recent heat waves tied to climate change have made wildfires more difficult to quell on the West Coast. Rising temperatures have made the American West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive, scientists have said.

Officials are hoping that the state won't see a repeat of last year when Golden Staters were hard-pressed to find refuge between an intensifying coronavirus pandemic and a hellscape of wildfires that hampered air quality all over the state.

A historic 4,257,863 acres of California burned in 2020 — the state's largest fire season in modern history. As fire season was already in full swing last year, more than 12,000 lightning strikes hammered the state, igniting massive fires. The state also experienced its first "gigafire" in 2020: a burn area that exceeded 1 million acres.

READ MORE: Wildfires Force National Forests In CA To Close