California responds aggressively as extreme heat fuels hundreds of new wildfire starts

At the direction of Governor Gavin Newsom, California continues to take measures in response to ongoing extreme heat and critical fire weather conditions. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and CAL FIRE have been prepositioning firefighting resources and personnel in 12 counties since last Wednesday, anticipating dangerous fire weather.

Since August 22, more than 74,000 lightning strikes have been recorded across the state, with over 33,000 occurring in just the past 24 hours. The National Weather Service has forecasted continued critical fire weather for Tuesday and Wednesday due to an abundance of lightning and gusty winds expected to increase fire risk in areas such as the Inland Region, Sacramento Valley, and surrounding mountain ranges. Portions of Southern and Inland California are also under a flood watch because of potential heavy rainfall.

Despite these challenges—including widespread Red Flag Warnings—state officials report that most new wildfires have been kept small. Of more than 200 fires started since August 21, only a few have grown beyond 10 acres. “California continues to be in a readiness posture for extreme heat and fire weather. Our aggressive response to this weather and our predeployment strategy has meant that only a handful of the more than 200 new fire starts have grown past 10 acres. We continue to have thousands of personnel deployed across the state to keep communities safe,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

Currently, over 2,700 personnel along with helicopters, engines, bulldozers, and water tenders are assigned to combat the Pickett Fire in Napa County. These efforts helped halt its forward growth and improve containment.

The prepositioning program supplements California’s Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System by providing additional support where needed. Local agencies can request extra resources from the state based on local conditions. Recently approved deployments include dozens of engines, water tenders, bulldozers, helicopters, hand crews, dispatchers, and incident management teams for counties such as Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Sierra, Nevada, Plumas, Placer, Calaveras, and Trinity.

These actions are intended to reduce response times and contain fires before they become major incidents. The State Operations Center at Cal OES remains on “enhanced watch” status for both heat and wildfire threats.

CAL FIRE reports that out of more than 200 new fire starts since August 21—132 within their jurisdiction—the majority were contained quickly due to rapid initial attacks and mutual aid support systems. Incident Management Team four was recently assigned to assist with the Pickett Fire in Napa County alongside local CAL FIRE units.

“This remarkable success rate is a testament to the dedication and preparedness of our firefighters,” according to CAL FIRE officials.

Officials urge residents statewide to remain alert during periods of heightened heat or wildfire risk by preparing evacuation plans and emergency supplies; signing up for local alerts; consulting area-specific heat safety information at CalHeatScore.CalEPA.ca.gov; and visiting Ready.ca.gov for broader preparedness guidance.