California fire season: Firefighters currently battling about dozen active wildfires

OROVILLE, Calif. - Firefighters across the state have been battling about a dozen major active wildfires fueled by drought-parched lands.

Dixie Fire in Butte County has consumed 59,984 acres and was 15 percent contained as of Tuesday, July 20,2021.

Among the largest was the Dixie Fire in Butte County which erupted last Wednesday. Cal Fire officials said it continued to grow overnight. As of Tuesday morning, flames had spread across 59,984 acres. The fire has destroyed two structures. It's only 15 percent contained. The flames have prompted evacuation orders and warnings.

On Monday, KTVU reported that Pacific Gas & Electric equipment may have been involved in the start of the Dixie Fire. PG&E told state regulators that a day before the fire erupted, a repair man responding to a circuit outage spotted blown fuses in a conductor atop a pole, a tree leaning into the conductor, and fire at the base of the tree.

A Cal Fire official told KTVU that the agency could only say that the fire was under investigation and that the origin was near where the deadly and destructive Camp Fire erupted in 2018, devastating the town of Paradise. Electrical transmission lines belonging to PG&E were determined to be the cause of that fire.

PG&E said its equipment may be linked to massive Dixie Fire in Butte County.

In Alpine County, firefighters were battling another massive blaze. The Tamarack Fire had consumed 39,045 acres with zero containment as of Tuesday.

The lightning sparked Tamarack Fire in Alpine County has consumed 39,045 acres and was 0% contained as of July 20, 2021.

Investigators said lighting sparked that fire which began on July 4. The fire has prompted evacuation orders. Alpine County officials said that six structures had been lost due to the fire.

Lighting was also being blamed for a massive wildfire in Plumas County. The Beckwourth Complex fire, which started July 3 had spread across 105,348 acres. Fire crews were getting a handle on the blaze which was 88 percent contained. Evacuation orders from that incident were being lifted. "The fire is not expected to move outside its current perimeter," officials said in a daily fire update. "As the fire is increasingly contained, crews, equipment, and other resources are being reassigned to other incidents or returning to their home units."

BECKWOURTH, UNITED STATES - 2021/07/09: Trees burning as the Beckwourth Complex fire approaches hwy 395. The Beckwourth Complex fire continues to burn through the night. (Photo by Ty ONeil/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Fire crews were also getting the upper hand on the Lava Fire in Siskiyou County, which was also caused by lighting. The fire consumed 26,316 acres and destroyed 23 structures including 14 homes. It was 77 percent contained with full containment expected on August 1.

Massive smoke plumes on July 5, 2021 from the Lava Fire in Siskiyou County. (U.S. Forest Service/inciweb)

Other active wildfires were:

The Henry Fire in Alpine County was at 1,143 Acres, with 38 percent containment. That fire too was determined to be sparked by lighting. Fire officials said they were keeping an eye on the weather conditions which could threaten their efforts to put out the blaze. "We are in a fire weather watch," fire officials with the Stanislaus National Forest said. "Relative humidity recoveries are forecast to be poor. A low pressure system will bring strong wind gusts to the area."

Cal Fire was also monitoring the Fork Fire in Tehama County which broke out on Saturday. It had consumed 43 acres, and the latest update had it at 85 percent containment.

Cal Fire map of "Active Fires of Interest" as of July 21, 2021.

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So far, there have been more wildfires this year in California than last. According to the latest figures from Cal Fire, from January 1 through July 18, 4,392 wildfires were reported, blackening 32,563 acres. That’s compared to 3,645 fires consuming 32,886.

Dixie Fire in Butte County has consumed 59,984 acres and was 15 percent contained as of Tuesday, July 20,2021.

"Conditions are there to have a major destructive fire season," said Rick Carhart, the public information officer with CAL FIRE/Butte County Fire Department. "We have had a warmer than normal summer. It's hot every summer, but it doesn't always get to 110 degrees three times in a summer."

But Carhart reminded residents that even during extreme heat, "You still need these fires to start. 95 percent of the fires are human caused," he said, adding, "so do everything you can to prevent them from starting."

Find the latest on the state's active wildfires on the Cal Fire incident website here.

This story was reported from Oakland, Calif.