Progress containing the Caldor and Dixie fires could slow over the next two days, as the areas in which the blazes are burning are expected to experience dangerous fire weather.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday issued a Fire Weather Watch for much of Northern California from Thursday at 5 p.m. until Friday night at 11, with isolated thunderstorms and high winds on the horizon.
A Fire Weather Watch is just below a Red Flag Warning, the National Weather Service’s highest alert.
The Caldor Fire’s containment grew significantly over the last week while its size did not, thanks in large part to favorable weather conditions. As of Thursday morning, the fire was 53 percent contained at 217,946 acres, according to Cal Fire. The fire burned fewer than 1,000 acres on Wednesday.
The Dixie Fire, meanwhile, was 59 percent contained at 927,320 acres on Thursday morning. It burned over 3,000 acres on Wednesday, and the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office issued mandatory evacuation orders in Old Station and along Highway 44 from the Lassen County line.
Of the nearly 15,000 firefighters assigned to California wildfires on Wednesday, over 9,000 were assigned to the Caldor and Dixie Fires. The fires remain the 15th- and second-largest, respectively, in California’s recorded history.
Thanks to the hot conditions in Northern California and the rest of the state, the California Independent System Operator extended its Flex Alert to between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursday. The power grid operator asked state residents to conserve electricity by turning off unnecessary lights, refraining from using major appliances and turning thermostats above 78 degrees during those hours.
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