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Latest updates from today:
10:30 p.m. Three more victims identified in North Complex fires: Butte County Sheriff’s officials announced three more people who died in connection to the North Complex fires. The death toll remains at 15. The newly identified are:
• Jacob Albright, 74, of Feather Falls
• Paul Winer, 68, of Berry Creek
• Randy Harrell, 67, of Feather Falls
9:05 p.m. Containment in CZU Complex grows to 93%: The CZU Lightning Complex, which has burned 86,509 acres in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, was 93% contained as of Tuesday evening, Cal Fire said. Officials expect to fully contain the fires by 8 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20.
8:55 p.m. SCU Complex remains 98% contained: The SCU Lightning Complex, which has burned 396,624 acres in seven Northern California counties, was 98% contained as of Tuesday evening, Cal Fire said. “The fire is now in patrol status with no fire activity noted for over a week,” Cal Fire said. Officials expect the fires to be fully contained on Wednesday.
8:35 p.m. Smoke from West Coast wildfires blows into East Coast cities: Wildfire smoke from the enormous fires blazing on the West Coast has made its way to the East Coast, bringing hazy conditions for the next few days, meteorologists said. A large-scale weather pattern with a ridge of high pressure blew smoke from blazes in California, Oregon, and Washington across the country and into East Coast cities including New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
4:44 p.m. Kamala Harris sounds climate change alarm from ruins of California fires: The Democratic vice presidential nominee viewed homes leveled by the Creek Fire in the Sierra foothills outside Fresno and redoubled the ticket’s new message on the dangers of climate change to people’s lives, health and property. “This is not a partisan issue,” the California senator said. Read the story.
3:26 p.m. Evacuation warnings removed in parts of Santa Cruz County: Evacuation warnings in some portions of Santa Cruz County have been removed for the CZU Lightning Complex, Cal Fire said Tuesday afternoon. No direct threats to property remain in those areas.
3:06 p.m. Town just north of state border flattened: Phoenix, Ore., a town of 4,500 people about 20 miles from the California border, has seen maybe more wildfire destruction than any other town this year, laid to waste by the Alameda Fire, the New York Times reports. A local pastor and school bus driver who had created a charity for his hometown, Paradise, following the deadly 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, now faced disaster in his new home. He’s thrown himself into yet another relief effort.
2:48 p.m. Portland Classic reduced: The LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic set for this weekend has been reduced to 54 holes because of poor air quality caused by wildfires that have been burning across the West. The course and practice facilities at Columbia Edgewater Country Club remained closed Tuesday, and Wednesday’s Pro-AM has been canceled. Portland’s air quality has been at dangerous levels because of wildfires.
2:42 p.m. LA observatory threatened: Firefighters burned off vegetation in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles on Tuesday to protect historic Mount Wilson Observatory from the Bobcat Fire. The blaze was within 500 feet the observatory by early afternoon and crews were waiting for it, the Angeles National Forest tweeted. The blaze was just 3% contained after growing to more than 64 square miles.
2:20 p.m. Giants foiled by smoke this time: The Giants, who endured two postponements over the weekend after a coronavirus scare, have now been sidelined by smoky air from fires in the Northwest. Tuesday night’s game against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park was postponed and the Giants were flying home, according to sources. They were set to start a two-game series. Read the story here.
1:35 p.m. Point Reyes partly open after Woodward Fire: Areas of the Point Reyes National Seashore unaffected by the 4,910-acre Woodward Fire have reopened; but all southern portions of the park, including Limantour Road, remain closed to visitors, officials said Tuesday. Crews completed a small burnout operation near the park’s Bear Valley Visitor Center and continued to monitor hotspots withing the 95%-contained fire. “We have had people frequenting the fire site and we’d like to remind everyone many trails are closed,” said Jordan Reeser of Marin County Fire.
1:19 p.m. Insurance problem makes cannabis farmers more vulnerable in fires: California cannabis cultivators are racing to harvest their crops amid fierce wildfires that in some cases destroy even plants that are spared by the flames. The industry suffers more than most businesses affected by fires: Cannabis crops are more difficult to insure because growing the plant is still illegal under federal law. Read the story here.
12:59 p.m. August Complex fires rage in Mendocino, Humboldt: The August Complex fires have overtaken 794,801 acres, based on new aerial surveys, officials said Tuesday. Firefighters focused on the western edge of the blaze, aided by crews from Montana, Utah, Texas and New Jersey. The complex was 30% contained, Cal Fire said. Evacuation orders for Mendocino and Humboldt counties directed people to several evacuation sites, including the Humboldt County Fairgrounds.
11:57 a.m. LNU Complex containment holds at 97%: Fire crews were putting out smoldering hotspots Tuesday in densely-forested areas of the Walbridge Fire, part of the 363,220-acre LNU Complex, a Cal Fire spokesman said. The North Bay fires were 97% contained as of Tuesday morning, with the remaining 3% located in hard-to-reach terrains, including the northeast portion of the Hennessey Fire, Cal Fire said.
11:44 a.m. Full containment expected Wednesday for SCU Complex: Firefighters patrolled the perimeter of the 98%-contained SCU Complex fires Tuesday, with full containment expected on Wednesday, according to a Cal Fire update. Officials have reported no new eruptions within the 396,624-acre complex for the past week. The flames injured six people and destroyed 222 structures as they charged across seven counties including Santa Clara, Alameda, San Joaquin and Stanislaus.
11:20 a.m. Dolan Fire south of Big Sur 40% contained: Firefighters have made progress containing the 119,488-acre Dolan Fire along Highway 1 south of Big Sur, fire officials said Tuesday. Crews prepared for a burnout operation intended to prevent the fire from moving further south of the Ventana Wilderness Area and Los Padres National Forest. The fire was at 40% containment as of Tuesday morning.
10:35 a.m. Fires at California-Oregon border 10% contained: The Slater and Devil fires burning in Klamath National Forest on the California-Oregon border have consumed 136,030 acres and are 10% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fires are burning in Siskiyou and Del Norte counties in California and Josephine County in Oregon. Evacuations and road closures are in place in all three counties but evacuation orders were lifted for the town of Happy Camp on the south end of the fire. The national forest is closed along with all national forests in California.
10:20 a.m. Creek Fire torching trees on uphill run: The Creek Fire raced uphill to the northeast in the San Joaquin River drainage overnight, Cal Fire reported Tuesday. Firefighters braced for increased burning day and night with expected warmer temperatures over the next two days, and will focus on holding containment lines around communities and key pathways toward developed areas, Cal Fire said. Tuesday’s primary focus was Jose Basin, where fire breached lines and threatened structures a day earlier. The Creek Fire was 16% contained and had burned 220,025 acres as of Tuesday morning, Cal Fire said.
9:56 a.m. Trump denies climate change amid wildfires: On the Fifth & Mission podcast, Sacramento reporter Alexei Koseff recaps President Trump’s surreal visit to California, during which he listened to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s polite plea to take climate change seriously, then assured state officials that, “It’ll start getting cooler. You just watch.” Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot told him, “I wish science agreed with you.” Click here to listen.
9:05 a.m. Winds muted for now in North Complex: High winds were feared overnight in Butte County where the western zone of the North Complex blaze continues to burn near Lake Oroville. But the winds, which could spread the fire, failed to materialize and aren’t likely to show up for at least the next two days, Cal Fire officials said. The west zone fire has raged through 76,900 acres and is 20% contained. It’s part of the broader North Complex of fires in Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties that has burned a total of 269,338 acres, with 32% containment as of Tuesday morning.
8:50 a.m. Beyond Bay Area, choking air persists: Relief from putrid, dangerous air spewing from massive western wildfires won’t come until later in the week or beyond, forecasters say, and hazy and gunk-filled skies might stick around even longer. Some areas of central California are unlikely to see relief until October, meteorologist Dan Borsum said, and smoke from fires throughout the West is pooling in the Central Valley. Oregon officials extended an air quality alert to Thursday that was to expire on Monday. The air was so thick that Alaska Airlines announced it was suspending service to Portland and Spokane, Wash., until Tuesday afternoon.
8:19 a.m. This has been the worst air, almost ever: Clean, fresh air is starting to seem like a vague memory from before lightning-caused wildfires exploded across California. If last weekend felt particularly awful, that’s because it was. Thursday through Sunday ranked among the Bay Area’s dozen worst air-quality days since officials started keeping track in 1999. Read the story here.
7:52 a.m. Minimal fire burning as CZU Complex is 91% contained: Cal Fire reported minimal fire remaining Tuesday morning over the majority of the CZU Complex fire area, as firefighters continued mop up and control of hotspots. Blackened hillsides tell the story up and down coastal Highway 1 and further inland, after the blaze burned 86,509 acres in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties. The fire was 91% as of Tuesday morning, Evacuation orders and warnings remained for parts of both counties.
7:38 a.m. Inmate firefighters brave conditions they’ve never seen: The 1,354 incarcerated firefighters on the front lines of California’s historic blazes represent a 30% decrease from last year’s crew, their numbers reduced by the state’s early release of thousands to prevent coronavirus spread. But the crews in the field are pushing themselves to levels they’d never imagined through long and dangerous days as Cal Fire tries to do more with less. Read the gripping details of their efforts.
7:28 a.m. Weather conditions should aid firefighters: Winds near Oroville, where the west zone of the deadly North Complex fire was burning, were light overnight and not expected to pick up until Thursday or Friday, the National Weather Service said Tuesday. A system that moves in Thursday will increase winds slightly but could also bring higher humidity and lower temperatures, said meteorologist Jim Mathews. “I think it will assist firefighters in their heroic efforts,” he said.
7:13 a.m. ‘In sync’?: Gov. Gavin Newsom said after meeting on wildfires with President Trump that he had wanted Trump “to know that we have established an engagement we would like to build on.” “And yes, frankly, to state in a way that wasn’t trying to take a cheap shot … to make the argument, we believe in climate change out here. We don’t believe it just because science says it; we observe it, we experience it.” Trump while reporters were in the room Monday did not discuss global warming, preferring to talk about forest management, except to predict “it will start getting cooler.” As reporters were led out he said, “I think we’re totally in sync.” Read the story here.
7:02 a.m. Improving smoke conditions, light winds: Light onshore winds are expected to blow away some of the smoke that’s choked the Bay Area for the past week, according to the National Weather Service. “General idea is for improving conditions today through Friday,” weather service tweeted Tuesday morning. Air quality index readings in much of the Bay Area were improved but still in the unhealthy for sensitive groups range with some areas of moderate conditions.