SAN FRANCISCO – Firefighters battled more than a thousand wildfires burning throughout Northern California to a stalemate yesterday, but forecasters said dangerous fire conditions wouldn't disappear anytime soon.
No new major fires had broken out yesterday as fire crews inched closer to getting some of the largest blazes surrounded, according to the state Office of Emergency Services. But a “red flag warning” – meaning the most extreme fire danger – remains in effect for Northern California until early this morning. And the coming days and months are expected to bring little relief.
Forecasters predicted more thunderstorms and dry lightning similar to the ones that ignited hundreds of fires a week ago. Meanwhile, a U.S. Forest Service report said the weather would get even drier and hotter as fire season headed toward its traditional peak in late July and August.
Lower-than-average rainfall and record levels of vegetation parched by a spring drought likely mean a long, fiery summer throughout Northern California, according to the Forest Service's state fire outlook released last week.
The current fires will take weeks to months to bring under control, the report said.
Those blazes were sparked mostly by lightning storms that were unusually intense for so early in the season. But summer storms would likely grow more fierce, according to the Forest Service.
“Our most widespread and/or critical lightning events often occur in late July or August, and we have no reason to deviate from that,” the agency's report said.
The blazes have scorched more than 556 square miles and destroyed more than 50 buildings, said state emergency services spokesman Gregory Renick.
Air quality districts from Bakersfield to Redding issued health advisories through the weekend, urging residents to stay indoors to limit their exposure to the smoky air. Air pollution readings in Northern California are two to 10 times the federal standard for clean air, state air regulators said.
On Saturday, President Bush issued an emergency declaration for California and ordered federal agencies to assist in firefighting efforts in Butte, Mendocino, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta and Trinity counties.
But California emergency officials said state and local governments also would need federal financing to cover the costs of fighting so many fires this early in the year.
The blazes threatened more than 10,000 buildings across the region, Renick said.
