El Dorado County's Fork Fire 24% contained as local air quality slowly improves

Nearly 17,000 firefighters continue to battle flames throughout California as 25 major wildland fires continue to wreak death and destruction across the Golden State. The ongoing fires continue to bring unhealthy air conditions to the region, a condition that is expected to continue for days to come. The nearest fire that continues to burn is in El Dorado County, known as the Fork Fire. The blaze originated on Sept. 8 in the El Dorado National Forest, 15 miles northeast of Pollock Pines and has now consumed more than 1,750 acres. As of Wednesday, the blaze was at 24% percent containment, according to officials of the United States Forest Service (USFS). The current conditions and level of containment has prompted the USFS to extend the emergency closure of the El Dorado National Forest. The forest will remain closed across the region due to continued extreme fire conditions across the state. Agency officials are asking that people refrain from going in or near the fire area to help maintain firefighter and public safety. Authorities are reportedly working on a closure order specific to the fire area for the near future . A temporary flight restriction is also in place over the fire area. According to the latest reports, crews from multiple agencies continue to strengthen the fire line on the southeastern edge of the fire to secure the Airport Flat area. Firefighters are working from the outer edge of the area to extinguish hot spots along the fire's south and east sides. Along the northern edge, crews continue to construct lines toward the Rubicon River. Monday, helicopters supported crews for several hours with water drops on hot spots near Airport Flat. On the southwest portion of the fire, crews are working to improve the dozer line along a ridge near South Creek in the South Fork of Rubicon River canyon. El Dorado County Forestry and Fire officials have noted that the current local fire weather conditions are similar to those conditions experienced six years ago during the King Fire, with the exception of the fuel component. Because much of the fuel was removed during the 2014 King Fire, the burned area now contains millions of standing dead trees, also known as snags, which pose a hazard to firefighters. Highly-trained tree fallers are now working to fell hazardous trees inside the fire line and along roadways within the King Fire scar. Mother Nature doesn't appear to be assisting firefighters anytime soon as very little change in the weather is expected in the next few days. Conditions are expected to remain warm and dry, with temperatures in the 80s and humidity in the teens. Winds have been slightly weaker in the area of the fire this week, with gusts less than 20 mph. A Red Flag Warning continues in portions of Northeastern California around Modoc National Forest and Tulelake Basin due to gusty winds and low humidity. This Red Flag Warning is in effect Tuesday and these conditions will likely continue Thursday. Temperatures are expected to be warm Tuesday and Thursday although tempered a bit by smoke. It will be cooler Friday and through the weekend as the trough moves through with some increase in humidity. Local air districts at Spare The Air are currently expecting max AQI levels across Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and Solano counties to fall to the range of 101 to 150 Thursday and Friday. While it is a welcome drop in levels, the range is still considered "unhealthy for sensitive groups," such as those with asthma and other respiratory conditions. Recent National Weather Service forecasts for smoke activity show onshore winds have started to blow a good amount of the smoke away from Sacramento's part of the valley and are expected to continue to do so for the latter part of the week ahead. So far in 2020, wildfires have burned more than 3.2 million acres in California. Since Aug. 15, when California's fire activity elevated, there have been 25 fatalities and more than 4,200 structures destroyed. As of press time, here is the current status of California's active and most recent wildfires reported by CalFire: Fork Fire, El Dorado County15 miles northeast of Pollock Pines (El Dorado National Forest)*1,752 acres, 24- percent contained*Evacuation orders remain in place Shackleford Fire, Siskiyou County Southwest of Quartz Valley Reservation*50 acres, 50-percent contained Willow Fire, Yuba County Willow Glen Road, Dobbins*1,311 acres, 100-percent contained*Evacuations in place Oak Fire, Mendocino County North of Willits*1,100 acres, 100-percent contained LNU Lightning Complex, multiple North Bay counties Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Colusa, Solano and Yolo counties*363,220 acres, 97-percent contained*Hennessey (merged fires) 305,651 acres, 96-percent contained*Wallbridge 55,209 acres, 95-percent contained*1,491 structures destroyed*Five fatalities*CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 2 in command SCU Lightning Complex, multiple Easy Bay countiesContra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara San Joaquin, Merced, and Stanislaus counties*396,624 acres, 98-percent contained*20 fires in the complex, several have merged together*222 structures destroyed*CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 6 command CZU Lightning Complex, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties*86,509 acres, 91-percent contained*Multiple fires*1,490 structures destroyed*One fatality*CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 3 command Schoolhouse, Siskiyou CountySchoolhouse Gap Road, north of Fort Jones*45 acres, 90-percent contained North Complex, Plumas County Southwest of Susanville (Plumas National Forest)*269,358 acres, 32-percent contained*15 fatalities*Evacuations in place*Includes the Bear and Claremont Fire*CAL FIRE Team 4 is now in unified command with US Forest Service IMT Team 4 Creek Fire, Fresno County Northeast of Shaver Lake (Sierra National Forest)*220,025 acres, 16-percent contained*Evacuations in effect*Heavy tree mortality in the area*CAL FIRE and US Forest Service in unified command*CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 1*Great Basin Team 1 El Dorado Fire, San Bernardino County West of Oak Glen (San Bernardino National Forest)*17,598 acres, 54-percent contained*Evacuations in place*California Interagency Incident Management Team 11 in unified command with CAL FIRE, Yucaipa Fire Department and San Bernardino County Fire Department Butte/Tehama/Glenn (BTU/TGU) Lightning Complex, multiple counties Butte, Tehama, and Glenn Counties*19,609 acres, 97-percent contained*Includes multiple other smaller fires*Decrease in acres as Elkhorn was moved to the August Complex.*16 structures destroyed **Coordinated Command Incidents**August Complex, Tehama CountyElk Creek and Stonyford area (Mendocino National Forest)*803,489 acres, 30-percent contained*North/South Zone 754,480 acres, 30-percent contained*West Zone 49,009 acres, 0-percent contained*Decreased acreage due to mapping by USFS*One fatality*Includes multiple fires including the Elkhorn, Hopkins, Willow, Vinegar, and Doe fires*A California Interagency Incident Management Team and Great Basin Team in command*A CAL FIRE Incident Management Team is deployed on the fire's west zone. SQF Complex, Tulare County25 miles north of Kernville (Sequoia National Forest)*107,101 acres, 12-percent contained*Castle and Shotgun Fires merged into this complex Slater Fire, Siskiyou CountyFive miles North of Happy Camp (Klamath National Forest)*131,601 acres, 10-percent contained*Two fatalities*Evacuation orders in place Devil Fire, Siskiyou CountyFive miles north of Upper Devil's Peak (Klamath National Forest)*4,429 acres, 0-percent contained Bobcat Fire, Los Angeles CountyNorth of DuarteAngeles National Forest*41,231 acres, three-percent containment*Evacuations in progress*EA Silver Team in command Bullfrog Fire, Fresno CountySoutheast of Bullfrog Lake, Sierra National Forest*900 acres, 0-percent contained Valley Fire, San Diego County Near Alpine (Cleveland National Forest)*17,665 acres, 87-percent contained*CAIIMT 15 in command Lake Fire, Los Angeles CountySouthwest of Lake HughesAngeles National Forest / Los Angeles County Fire Department* 31,089 acres, 96-percent contained Dolan Fire, Monterey CountyHighway 1, 10 miles south of Big Sur (Los Padres National Forest)*118,465 acres, 40-percent contained*Structures threatened*Type 1 NW Team 2 (Allen) in command Apple Fire, Riverside County Oak Glen/Cherry Valley (San Bernardino National Forest)*33,424 acres, 95-percent contained Red Salmon Complex – Humboldt County14 miles northeast of Willow Creek (Shasta-Trinity National Forest)*91,743 acres, 16-percent contained Blue Jay Fire, Mariposa CountyYosemite National Park Wilderness*3,500 acres, 20-percent contained Wolf Fire, Tuolumne CountyYosemite National Park Wilderness*828 acres, 10-percent contained Woodward Fire, Marin CountyThree miles southwest of Olema (Point Reyes National Seashore)*4,920 acres, 96-percent contained Slink Fire, Mono CountyTwo miles west of Coleville (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest)*26,709 acres, 60-percent contained Moraine, Tulare CountySequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness*575 acres, 70-percent contained Rattlesnake, Tulare CountySequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness *1,441 acres, 0-percent contained