California wildfires are increasing explosively, leading to evacuations

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California wildfires experienced explosive growth Friday as the area north of Lake Tahoe braced for triple-digit temperatures this weekend amid a summer heat wave.

National Forest Service officials said the Beckworth compound fire on federal land near the town of Beckworth led to evacuations, closed part of the Plumas National Forest, and posed a serious risk to campgrounds in the area.

Forest Service spokeswoman Phyllis Ashmid said that as the fire moved east toward Nevada, officials were considering closing Highway 395, a popular route for tourists to Reno. spokeswoman Lisa Cox later added that a nearby rail line was under threat.

Firefighters battle the Sugar Fire, part of the Bickworth Compound fire, which burns in Plumas National Forest, California, July 8, 2021.

Several other roads, including State Route 284, were closed due to the fire.

“Yesterday, it took a lot of distance, today we have grown even more,” she said.

Containment was limited to 9 percent on Friday, and 38,056 acres burned. An individual compound fire was announced on July 4 after the Dota Fire, which began on June 30, and the Sugar Fire, which began on July 2, combined. Federal officials said both were caused by lightning strikes.

The compound fire nearly doubled by Friday, adding 10,000 acres to its site, forest officials said. Then they added another 14,871 acres by evening, they said.

The weather forecast was bleak. The National Weather Service reported lightning strikes on the eastern side of the fire.

“Lightning bolts from clouds to the ground and erratic outgoing winds of more than 30 mph are possible near the complex,” the weather service said in a weather statement Friday.

The temperature was 94 degrees Friday in Pickwarth, about 55 miles north of Lake Tahoe. The high temperature warning was due to go into effect from Saturday noon until Monday evening.

Firefighters monitor the Sugar Fire, part of the Bickworth Compound fire, which burns in Plumas National Forest, California, July 8, 2021.

The Met Office said the warning indicated “extremely hot conditions” and temperatures approaching 100 degrees.

In a report on the incident, the US Forest Service predicted that “fire activity will increase by Saturday.” “The weather will get hotter and drier with a heat wave expected this weekend,” she added.

The Beckworth Compound Fire appeared to be the most dangerous of several wildfires that burned in California on Friday. “Climate change is a major driver” of the state’s recent wildfire woes, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said earlier this year.

Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday called on residents to cut water consumption by 15 percent amid a statewide drought and a far-reaching heat wave.

Dennis Romero

Dennis Romero writes for Los Angeles-based NBC News.

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