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Wildfires have charred more than 1 million acres in California this year \u2014 and fire season is far from over<\/h1>\n
\n\nMore than 1.2 million acres burned. Over 1,200 homes destroyed. At least a dozen dead. And California\u2019s fire season is far from over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nDuring the next month, California is expected to see above-normal fire activity after a hot summer dried out grasses that grew long thanks to the state\u2019s brief reprieve from drought. Expected Santa Ana winds will exacerbate any fire that starts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/p>\n\n\nPredictive models of the coming month\u2019s fire activity suggest that, if wildfires start, they will likely grow rapidly and be more difficult to contain, said Jessica Gardetto, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s fairly common to have California experience this level of fire activity in the fall, but it\u2019s not usually the entire state,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nThe amount of land that has burned this year is almost equivalent to the 1.4 million acres that burned last year, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It\u2019s a significant uptick from the last nine years, said Heather Williams, a Cal Fire spokeswoman.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nThis summer, more than a dozen fires were burning at the same time throughout Southern and Northern California, including some of the largest single wildfires in recorded state history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nLarge single fires seem to be part of a more permanent trend, threatening and burning more homes and businesses, fire officials said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nCalifornia holds the top spot for acres burned, followed by Nevada and Oklahoma, and accounts for 10% of all acreage burned in the U.S. since 2000, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nFirefighters who have been on the job for decades have repeatedly expressed alarm about the changing behavior of fires, which have become more intense and less predictable, and the increasingly elongated fire season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nThat season is now about 72 days longer than it was 30 years ago, according to Cal Fire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a marathon that just keeps getting longer and longer,\u201d said J Olsen, a firefighter with Central Calaveras Fire and Rescue who worked the Mendocino Complex fire. \u201cEvery season I go into it thinking it\u2019s going to be the worst season we\u2019ve seen yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nFor the last several weeks, fires across Northern and Central California have prompted thousands of residents in small cities and rural regions to evacuate as thousands of firefighters and support personnel work the lines. In many cases, the fires are burning in steep, rocky terrain that\u2019s often inaccessible or too dangerous to fight directly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nHere is a list of the fires that have recently burned through the state (acreage and containment figures for active fires are as of Friday night):<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Lakeport.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFirefighters work to keep flames from the River fire from reaching a home as evening winds kick up near Lakeport, Calif., on July 31. (Marcus Yam \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
\n\nThe Mendocino Complex fire<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nSize:<\/strong>\u00a0459,123 acres<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nPercent of perimeter contained:<\/strong>\u00a098%<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nStart date:<\/strong>\u00a0July 27<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nCause:<\/strong>\u00a0Under investigation<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nHow to help:<\/strong>\u00a0You can\u00a0donate to a disaster fund<\/a>, set up by the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, or to the North Coast Opportunities\u00a0fire relief fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nThe Mendocino Complex fire, which is made up of the River fire and the Ranch fire, is the largest wildfire in modern California history, usurping last year\u2019s Thomas fire, which ravaged Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nThe fire burned toward the rugged Mendocino National Forest, making it difficult for firefighters to attack the fire directly, prolonging the time it took for containment. Firefighters focused on digging fire lines near natural barriers to stop the blaze. Nighttime temperatures and humidity levels didn\u2019t improve, which caused the fire to regularly grow overnight. Less destructive than last year\u2019s wine county fires, the fire destroyed 157 homes and 123 other buildings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nIf it were in L.A. County, the Mendocino Complex fire\u2019s perimeter\u00a0would stretch from Los Angeles International Airport to Pomona<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nBattalion Chief Matthew Burchett, 42, of the Draper City Fire Department in Utah, died\u00a0after he was injured<\/a>\u00a0while working on an active portion of the Ranch fire.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Brian-Bledsoe.png\")
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