The Chronicle’s Fire Updates page documents the latest events in wildfires across the Bay Area and the state of California.
The Chronicle’s Fire Map and Tracker provides updates on fires burning throughout California, including these huge lightning-sparked blazes currently aflame in around the Bay Area:
• SCU Complex fires that began Aug. 16 and affect steep terrain of Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties
• CZU Complex fires that began Aug. 17, affecting the Santa Cruz mountains and Santa Cruz and San Mateo County coastal areas
• LNU Complex fires that began Aug. 17, affecting the Healdsburg and Russian River areas; Lake, Yolo and Solano counties; and Napa and Sonoma wine country
The Chronicle’s PG&E Outage Map provides real-time locations of where the power is out.
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Latest updates from today:
2:30 p.m. Bay Area hospitals, nursing homes begin evacuations: California wildfires are forcing several hospitals and nursing homes to evacuate, transfer patients, including some with COVID-19, and brace for an influx of new patients with smoke-related respiratory problems — putting additional strain on a health care system already stretched thin due to the pandemic. Read the whole story here.
2:18 p.m. Monterey County evacuations ordered: Due to advance of the Dolan Fire on the coast south of Monterey, Monterey County officials are ordering residents of Partington Ridge to evacuate.
1:33 p.m. Vacaville lifts evacuation orders: All evacuation orders for the city of Vacaville have been lifted, the police department announced at midday Friday. Residents are able to return to homes within the city limits. Evacuation orders remain in place in some unincorporated areas near Vacaville.
1:26 p.m. Evacuation warnings for West Marin County: Marin County fire officials have issued evacuation warnings for Olema, Inverness, Inverness Park and Sea Haven. Residents are warned to be ready to evacuate ahead of the Woodward Fire. he area now includes the coastal communities stretching from Bolinas to Sea Haven, and for much of that region both sides of Highway 1 — all areas west of the Bay Ridge Trail, Bolinas Ridge Fire Road and the McCurdy Trail intersections with Sir Francis Drake.
1:17 p.m. California gets FEMA grant to battle fires: California has secured a disaster relief grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fight the SCU Lightning Complex Fire in Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties, which has burned 229,968 acres and more than 8,000 homes, state officials said. The grant allows local and state agencies to receive 75% reimbursement for their firefighting costs.
12:55 a.m. SF, East Bay air quality at unhealthy level: Wildfire smoke wafting over San Francisco sent the air quality levels to “unhealthy” at midday Friday, with the city joining the East Bay at that designation.
12:45 p.m. Thousands more evacuated across state: Some 119,000 people now have fled the wildfires rampaging across California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday, with more communities evacuated as the number of blazes has grown to 560, the vast majority of them in Northern California.
11:51 a.m. Newsom says Trump administration helpful: Gov. Gavin Newsom says that despite negative comments from President Trump about California’s firefighting practices, the president has never failed to respond positively when contacted for assistance. “While he may make statements publicly, the working relationship privately has been a very effective one,” Newsom said Friday. Just last week, the U.S. Forest agreed to a partnership for fire breaks and other forest management measures on federal land in California, but maybe Trump’s staff doesn’t always inform him of such steps, he said.
11:48 a.m. Ten states are helping fight California fires: California has received help or the promise of engines and assistance to fight the state’s wildfires from 10 states, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday. The state has also asked for help from Australia and Canada.
11:39 a.m. Some containment seen in Northern California fires: The SCU Complex of fires affecting the East Bay and San Joaquin County is 10% contained and the LNU Complex affecting North Bay counties and the Vacaville area is 7% contained, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
11:35 a.m. More lightning in forecast: The National Weather Service said Friday that atmospheric conditions could produce dry lightning between Sunday morning and next Tuesday. Lightning has been blamed for starting the clusters of fires now ravaging Northern California.
11:30 a.m. State marshals 12,000 firefighting force: Some 12,000 firefighters now are battling the blazes across California, especially some two dozen of the mega-fires sparked by lightning in Northern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday.
11:26 a.m. California now has 560 active fires: Gov. Gavin Newsom says the fires in California now number 560 active blazes, with the addition of “sleeper fires” that have erupted.
11:23 a.m. Henessey Fre slowing: Cal Fire Operations Chief Chris Waters said Friday that the Hennessey Fire has been contained at the southern section of Solano County. The Hennessey is part of the much broader LNU Lightning Complex of fires.
10:59 a.m. UC Santa Cruz campus empty, closed: With one of the CZU Complex fires burning a mile north of its upper campus, UC Santa Cruz has evacuated about 1,200 people living in student and employee housing for the online summer session. About 75 went to the university’s evacuation center at the Cocoanut Grove on the Santa Cruz boardwalk. Only first responders and people authorized by campus police are permitted on campus.
10:24 a.m. Santa Clara County advises residents to stay inside: With wildfires all around the Bay Area pumping smoke into the skies and drifting into the South Bay, public health officials are telling residents to avoid exercising outdoors or even dining or getting haircuts until the air quality improves. Three fires that are part of the SCU Lightning Complex are burning in Santa Clara County.
10:17 a.m. Wildfires tear through small Vacaville farms, leaving trail of singed lavender fields: Among casualties of the LNU Lightning Complex fires are many of the farms in Vacaville’s Pleasants Valley, a unique agricultural community with lots of small-scale, family-owned businesses. Read the story here.
10:03 a.m. Point Reyes fire spreading north and south: The Woodward Fire in a remote section of Point Reyes National Seashore was extremely active overnight, spreading both north and south and covering 2,100 acres, Marin County and fire officials said. Part of the area was burned in the 1995 Vision Fire, which consumed 12,000 acres and 45 homes in West Marin. The Woodward Fire has burned from the Pacific Ocean inland, south of Meadow Trail and two ridges away from Limantour Road.
9:25 a.m. New evacuations ordered along Russian River: More evacautions have been ordered along the Russian River. The evacuations cover all areas south of the river, east and north of Highway 116 in the Pocket Canyon area, and west of Martinelli Road. Residents of Odd Fellows Park and Drake Road are advised to use eastbound Highway 116 to evacuate and residents of SummerHome Park are advised to use Forest Hills Road to eastbound River Road.
9:21 a.m. Fire continues to grow at Point Reyes: The Woodward Fire continues to burn, growing to 2,100 acres with no containment, in a remote area of the Point Reyes National Seashore on the Woodward Trail in Marin County. Trails in the area have been closed, along with Limantour Road. The fire is sending smoke over Marin County and San Francisco.
8:49 a.m. UC Santa Cruz evacuated: The UC Santa Cruz campus has been evacuated. Chancellor Cynthia Larive issued an emergency declaration and ordered all students living on campus and employees to leave. The university has set up an evacuation center at the Cocoanut Grove event center on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The university is not in session and remote classes are scheduled so it’s not clear how many student residents were evacuated.
8:06 a.m. Another smoky day for Bay Area: Smoke lingered over the Bay Area for the third consecutive day, with expectations for continued hazy and smoky skies as wildfires raged. As of early Friday, fine particle pollution was at “unhealthy” levels in Gilroy and “unhealthy for sensitive groups” in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park, Laney College in Oakland and Jackson Street in San Jose. Most other areas reported moderate levels of pollution. A Spare the Air alert is in effect through Sunday.
7:38 a.m. People fleeing fires steer clear of evacuation centers: Thousands of evacuees fleeing more than 300 Northern California fires are being forced to make quick decisions about where to go after the coronavirus pandemic forced dramatic changes in emergency procedures. Shelters and evacuation centers have become a last resort for emergency workers and residents fleeing the flames, as many are reluctant to crowd inside with strangers for fear of spreading the virus. Read The Chronicle’s story.
7:25 a.m. LNU Complex fire grows, but showing first sign of containment: The LNU Complex fire is now torching just over 219,000 acres across Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties, Cal Fire said Friday morning, an expansion of about 4,000 overnight. But for the first time since the blaze started, firefighters reported the cluster of fires is now 7% contained. Four people have died from the fires and 480 structures have been destroyed. Another 30,500 are still threatened.
6:21 a.m. New evacuation center established in San Mateo County: Detective Rosemary Blankswade, a San Mateo County Sheriff’s spokeswoman, said that Half Moon Bay High School’s evacuation center is full and officials are now redirecting affected residents to the San Mateo County Events Center at 1346 Saratoga Dr. in San Mateo. This new location comes after the county’s original evacuation center, Pescadero High School, had to be evacuated Wednesday due to the fast-moving fire.
6:14 a.m. Cal Fire unit chief calls CZU Complex fire an unprecedented blaze: Ian Larkin, the chief of Cal Fire’s San Mateo Santa Cruz Unit, urged residents near the CZU Complex fire to heed evacuation orders or prepare to flee if they have yet to receive one. “We have fires burning in areas that have never burned at all,” Larkin said during a Friday morning news conference.
6:09 a.m. CZU Complex displaces thousands more: The CZU Complex fire raging through San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties is now 50,000 acres in size and has displaced about 64,600 people, Cal Fire officials said Friday morning. The cluster of fires is still at 0% containment.
5:43 a.m. Forecast brings little relief for fire fights: Average high temperatures are on a slight downward slope across Northern California, a trend that’s expected to carry over into the weekend, National Weather Service meteorologists said Friday. Winds could gust up to 30 mph in some areas of higher elevations, but will blow on average between 5 and 15 mph across the region — offering little assistance to firefighters battling multiple, huge blazes. A gathering marine layer — an air mass that develops over bodies of water — may help to lower humidity levels, but not enough to meaningfully impact the fire fights.
1:08 a.m. 1,500 structures threatened in Glenn, Tehama counties: The Tehama/Glenn Complex fires, which ignited from lightning strike on Monday, grew to 27,500 acres by Friday morning and were threatening 1,500 homes and other buildings in Northern California. Areas east of the Mendocino National Forest were evacuated. One firefighter was injured and the complex was 5 percent contained.
12:48 a.m. 48,000 residents evacuated in the CZU Complex fires: San Mateo County officials said that 48,000 residents of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties have been evacuated due to the CZU Complex fires. The count includes UC Santa Cruz, which ordered all students and personnel to leave the campus and expect to stay away for at least two weeks.
12:25 a.m. UC Davis veterinary clinic treats 13 injured animals: Thirteen animals injured in the LNU Complex fires have been treated by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Among the patients is Ava, an 11-year-old draft horse with burn injuries that was the only survivor of six horses owned by a registered nurse who lost her home, truck and trailer too. Other animals brought in were horses, sheep, alpacas, a pony, a goat and a cat.
Updates from Thursday, Aug. 20
11:33 p.m. Four people dead from LNU Lightning Complex, three of whom found at single home: Three people were found dead at a burned home on the 6900 block of State Route 128 in Napa County on Wednesday, said Henry Wofford, spokesman for the Napa County Sheriff’s Office. Napa County sheriff’s officials recovered their remains on Thursday, Wofford told The Chronicle. The three victims have not been identified, and officials have not determined their genders or ages, Wofford said. The fourth victim of the LNU Lightning Complex died in Solano County. Information about the Solano County victim was not immediately available on Thursday night.
7:25 p.m. Half Moon Bay cautions people not to come to beaches: Half Moon Bay Mayor Adam Eisen said hotels in his community have filled up with evacuees, and though he was happy to be helping people fleeing the fires he cautioned that anybody thinking of coming to the beaches over the weekend to escape smoke should stay away instead. The narrow roads leading into town are usually clogged with weekend visitors anyway, he said, and if the fire moves north and forces Half Moon Bay residents to leave, there could be deadly gridlock. “To pile a whole bunch of new traffic on top of what we already have could get crazy, and if we have to evacuate, it could get very dangerous,” said Eisen. “Just this evening, I closed our beaches, and people should know that. We have to do what we have to do. It’s an emergency.”
7:25 p.m. More evacuation orders for Santa Cruz County: Additional evacuation orders were issued for portions of Santa Cruz County, including: All Scotts Valley residents west of State Route 17, the Santa Cruz County area east of Zayante Canyon, west of State Route 17 and south of State Route 35, and UC Santa Cruz.
7:15 p.m. Santa Cruz mayor urges residents to be prepared to evacuate: Santa Cruz Mayor Justin Cummings urged residents in a Thursday evening statement to fuel their vehicles and pack important documents (such as birth certificates, car titles, proof of address, passports, and social security cards), clothing, food, toiletries, medication, and food for pets. “Rather than wait until an evacuation order is issued, it is important that you prepare early so that you are ready to go at a moment’s notice,” Cummings wrote.
7:10 p.m. Woodward fire burns 2,000 acres in Marin County: County officials said the Woodward Fire, located in the Point Reyes National Seashore, burned 2,000 acres of “dense vegetation in a sparsely populated area of coastal Marin County” and was 0% contained as of 5:30 p.m. Thursday. No injuries have been reported, and no structures have been damage, county officials said.
7:05 p.m. Cal Fire officials says response still ‘drastically short’ for CZU Lightning Complex: Cal Fire incident commander Billy See said the 997 personnel assigned to the CZU Lightning Complex was “still not enough,” and that, “We’re drastically short for a fire this size.” Mandatory evacuations were put into effect for roughly 3,600 people in Pescadero, Bean Hollow, San Gregorio, La Honda, Skylonda, and Russian ridge Thursday evening, Cal Fire said. Santa Clara County Sheriff Chief Deputy Chris Clark said his office will devote around 30 deputies to prevent people from stealing merchandise from local stores on Thursday night.
7 p.m. CZU Lightning Complex burns 48,000 acres: The CZU Lightning Complex burned 48,000 acres and was 0% contained on Thursday evening, according to figures released during a Cal Fire news conference. The blaze is threatening 20,952 structures and destroyed 50, although Cal Fire said that number could go into the triple digits. Agencies have evacuated 49,000 people, Cal Fire said. Ian Larkin, CalFire unit chief for San Mateo and Santa Cruz, said the fire marks a historic event for the two impacted counties. “We have not seen fires burn like this in this unit for many, many years and those were much smaller than what we have in front of us today,” Larkin said.
6:40 p.m. San Jose center set up as resource center for SCU Lightning Complex: The Evergreen Community Center in San Jose has been established as a resource center to provide information about the SCU Lightning Complex, according to San Jose Parks and Recreation officials. The center will be open Thursday until 9 p.m., and Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The center is located at 4860 San Felipe Rd. in San Jose. Visitors will be required to wear face coverings and stay 6 feet apart from others.
6:35 p.m. Deer Zone Fire 70% contained: Officials with Contra Costa County Fire Protection District announced on Twitter that the Deer Zone Fire, which has been burning “for several days now” is at least 70% contained and poses “no threat to residents of our district.” The Deer Zone Fire is one of about 20 fires that comprise the 137,000-acre SCU Lightning Complex, which is burning in several counties.
6:20 p.m. Evacuation orders issued for portions of San Mateo County: Evacuation orders were issued to portions of San Mateo County including: the Pescadero Beach area, Pescadero Creek County Park area, Bean Hollow area, Pescadero area, La Honda area, Red Barn area, Russian Ridge Open Space area, Skylonda area, and Langley Hill area. An evacuation center has been established at Half Moon Bay High School, located at 1 Lewis Foster Drive in Half Moon Bay. The area is threatened by the CZU Lightning Complex.
6:05 p.m. Gov. Newsom urges people to vote, remarks on “unprecendented challenge” of wildfires: Ahead of the final night of the Democratic National Convention, California Gov. Gavin Newsom provided a video statement to viewers, saying the wildfires mark an “extraordinary moment in our history: Mother Nature has now joined this conversation around climate change, and so we too, need to advance that conversation.” Newsom said he was on the way to one of the evacuation centers when he decided to get out of the car to express his admiration for Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris for their commitment to “not just to the environment, but to the common wealth.” He urged people to “do everything in our power to get Joe Biden and Kamala Harris into the White House in January 2021.”
5:55 p.m. Evacuation orders lifted in most areas of Vacaville, some areas remain under order: Vacaville police announced on Twitter Thursday afternoon that evacuation orders have been lifted “for the remainder of the city with the exception” of the area south of south of Foothill Drive and west of Alamo Drive from Monte Vista Avenue to Interstate 80. Police supplied a map and said the area outlined in red will remain under evacuation as Vacaville firefighters continue to “evaluate the status of the terrain.”
5:35 p.m. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk closed to public: The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and its parking lots will be closed to the public through Sunday due to the CZU Lightning Complex blazing in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, boardwalk officials announced on Twitter. “We ask that you do not visit Santa Cruz for the time being. Fortunately, the Boardwalk is not threatened by the fires,” officials said on the boardwalk website. “Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends, neighbors and everyone affected by the fires.”
5:25 p.m. UC Santa Cruz among areas in Santa Cruz County issued evacuation warning: An evacuation warning was issued for parts of Santa Cruz County including: UC Santa Cruz campus, Scotts Valley areas west of State Route 17, encompassing downtown Scotts Valley, and Paradise Park, according to Cal Fire. “This is not an order to evacuate but those living on campus are highly encouraged to do so,” UC Santa Cruz police said on Twitter. “A campus email with additional information has been provided.” Evacuation centers have been established at Santa Cruz County Fairground (2601 East Lake Avenue in Watsonville) and Santa Cruz Seventh Day Adventist Camp Grounds (1931 Soquel San Jose Road). The evacuation center at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium is at capacity, Cal Fire said.
5:05 p.m. What mask is best for wildfire smoke and coronavirus protection? N-95s are scarce, but the KN95 mask is a potential alternative. But experts say the safest thing to do is stay inside. Read more here.
5 p.m. Santa Cruz food bank to provide food amid fires: Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz is scheduled to distribute food at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville on Friday despite the ongoing fire activity, according to county officials.
3:40 p.m. Scotts Valley residents warned to be ready to leave: An evacuation warning has been issued for all of Scotts Valley west of Highway 17, police officials said. Police are warning residents to be packed and ready to flee encroaching fires, and are encouraging those who can leave to do so: “If you have a place to go, we encourage you to leave as soon as you are ready.”
3:22 p.m. Heat wave backs off, fires don’t: The heat wave started easing up Thursday in many parts of the Bay Area, even as massive wildfires continued burning. Triple-digit temperatures mostly faded due to a low-pressure system from the Pacific Northwest, the National Weather Service said. Still, Vacaville, home of the LNU Lightning Complex fires, was expected to reach 99 on Friday and Saturday, with moderate winds — exactly what firefighters don’t want to hear.
3:20 p.m. Tuolumne County fire spreads across to 50 acres: Cal Fire is reporting that a fire off Highway 49 and Highway 120, in the Moccasin area of Tuolumne County, has burned 50 acres.
3 p.m. Go figure — rosé a bright spot in vineyards’ smoke calamity: To say this has not been a great week for California’s massive wine industry would be a massive understatement. Find out why rosé is a possible silver lining amid this disastrous convergence of wildfires, heat waves and storms, in Esther Mobley’s story.
2:29 p.m. Trump on California fires — ‘You got to get rid of the leaves’: President Trump renewed his criticism of California’s forestry practices Thursday as wildfires burned up and down the state, saying “many years of leaves and broken trees” are contributing to “massive fires again in California.” He added, “Maybe we’re just going to have to make them pay for it, because they don’t listen to us. We say you got to get rid of the leaves.” The story is here.
2:11 p.m. Fierce flames are eating the cameras that watch them: The lightning-sparked wildfires raging across Northern California are so intense that for the first time, they are torching the remote cameras that help monitor them. Five cameras, including three in the Bay Area, have been destroyed or severely damaged — some eerily catching the fires’ time-lapsed progress toward them and their own final moments before the flames overwhelmed them. Read The Chronicle’s story.
1:16 p.m. “We Only Had So Much Time”: On the Fifth & Mission podcast, reporter Matthias Gafni talks to Jimmy Santos, a Vacaville homeowner who escaped the flames with his wife Wednesday night. They spent harrowing hours waiting in a church parking lot before learning that firefighters were able to save their “dream house,” which they just bought two months ago. Click here to listen.
12:59 p.m. Down-to-the-wire evacuation: Rapid westward expansion of CZU Complex fire flames into Thursday morning prompted an “almost last-minute” evacuation of the coastal community of Davenport in Santa Cruz County, Cal Fire officials said. Sustained winds were expected to drive the fire north Thursday, with potential “significant threats” to Pescadero and La Honda.
12:49 p.m. What’s with the acronym-lightning fire names this time?: The wildfires currently blasting around the Bay Area have unusual-sounding three-letter monikers — LNU, CZU, SCU — and officials say that’s because the sheer number of fires has led to grouping them together in “complexes.” That’s what happens when the fires are sparked by lightning sieges. Read more about fire naming here.
12:41 p.m. Breathe with caution: Air quality in the Bay Area is expected to remain bad on Thursday and into the coming days. Because many of the northern California fires “will burn for days — even weeks — air quality will be extremely poor for an extended period,” climate expert Daniel Swain of UCLA tweeted. A Spare the Air alert is in effect for the Bay Area through Sunday.
12:30 p.m. Fremont opens another cooling center: Fremont now has two respite centers for residents seeking to escape the heat and smoke: the Warm Springs Community Center at 47300 Fernald St., and the Fremont Community Center at 40204 Paseo Padre Pkwy. Both are open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Face coverings are required.
12:09 p.m. Firefighters save Lick Observatory — for now: Firefighters saved the University of California’s Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton, a Bay Area landmark and an important astronomy research facility, from encroaching SCU Lightning Complex flames. Cal Fire and San Luis Obispo teams beat back flames Wednesday night, the university said in a Facebook post that praised their “incredible efforts.” But the observatory remains under threat from the volatile fire, officials said.
Movie I made from Mt. Hamilton, Lick Observatory real-time webcam showing the fires. Quieter now, but I hope that all stay safe and firefighters can save as many homes and historic structures as possible: pic.twitter.com/FubvRlSEPD
— Jessica Lu (@jlu_astro) August 20, 2020
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California fires live updates: 119,000 flee homes as 560 active blazes now rage in California - San Francisco Chronicle
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