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As lightning-induced wildfires rage across the Bay Area and Northern California, fire crews have made some headway on blazes closest to the Tri-Valley, Cal Fire said on Thursday morning.
The so-called “SCU Lightning Complex” — a collection of 20 separate fires caused by lightning strikes amid thunderstorms on Sunday and Monday in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties — rose to 137,475 acres with 5% containment overall as of Thursday morning. That compares to roughly 80,000 acres and 5% containment one day prior.
But Cal Fire released a breakdown of size and containment for the fire groups under the SCU Lightning Complex, revealing that progress is being made against the vegetation fires in and immediately around the Tri-Valley.
The Calaveras Zone of fires in the SCU Lightning Complex includes six large fires that ignited Sunday morning near the Sunol Regional Wilderness and the Calaveras Reservoir in rural southern Alameda County, northern Santa Clara County and western Stanislaus County.
As of Thursday morning, the Reservoir Fire within the Calaveras Zone stood at 27,550 acres with 10% containment, according to Cal Fire. The Arroyo Fire was 90% contained at 190 acres. There was no specific data yet on the Kilkare, Mill Creek, Welch and Ohlone fires.
The Deer Zone on the northeastern face of Mount Diablo included fires at approximately 3,000 acres and 70% containment, according to Cal Fire.
The largest of the complex was the Canyon Zone in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, which stood at 104,200 acres with no containment as of Thursday morning.
The SCU Lightning Complex had caused no fatalities but resulted in two first-responder injuries as of Thursday morning. No structures had been damaged or destroyed, but firefighters were working to protect homes across the area, according to Cal Fire.
More than 1,000 firefighters have been assigned to the SCU Lightning Complex.
Evacuations and road closures remain in effect across the complex area, but the only ones in Alameda County are all of Mines Road south of mile marker 10 to the county line as well as Frank Raines Park and Del Puerto Canyon Road in that area.
There are also fast-moving wildfires raging elsewhere in the Bay Area and Northern California, including Solano, Sonoma, Napa and Santa Cruz counties.
“Weather is a critical factor in the firefight including high heat, low humidity and strong winds and the high heat will continue into the weekend, exacerbating firefighting efforts,” said Daniel Berlant, assistant deputy director for Cal Fire.
“The recent spike in wildfire activity is an important reminder for residents to take steps to prevent sparking a wildfire. Having an evacuation plan, a supply kit, and important paperwork will make it easier when it is time to GO. Remember one less spark, means one less wildfire,” Berlant said.
Statewide, there were approximately 11,000 lightning strikes igniting more than 370 new fires over the past four days. Most have been controlled but nearly two-dozen major incidents remain aflame across many jurisdictions, according to Berlant.
Smoke impacts
Smoke and poor air quality has enveloped the Tri-Valley and most of the Bay Area as a result of the wildfires.
The Alameda County Public Health Department has issued a health alert and residents have been encouraged to remain indoors with doors and windows closed due to the air quality.
In the Tri-Valley, smoky conditions forced the closure of the regional COVID-19 testing center at the fairgrounds in Pleasanton for the second day in a row, as well as the cancellation of the Livermore Farmers’ Market on Thursday evening.
According to county health officials, smoke from wildfires contains many air pollutants that are of concern for health such as particulate matter, carbon monoxide and ozone.
To avoid adverse health effects, county health officials have advised residents to avoid contact with the smoke whenever possible by minimizing any time spent outdoors, especially among sensitive groups such as older adults, pregnant women and people who have asthma, lung or heart disease.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District extended its Spare the Air alert through Sunday. According to the air district, the Livermore Valley, Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley are expected to see the heaviest impacts from the smoke pollution, but impacts will be apparent throughout the Bay Area.
The East Bay Regional Park District on Wednesday moved to close all of its inland parks until further notice due to the fire conditions around the Bay Area.
“The Park District is currently experiencing an unprecedented number of wildfires in parks, including Round Valley Regional Preserve, Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, Del Valle Regional Park, Sunol Wilderness Regional Preserve, Ohlone Wilderness Regional Preserve, Mission Peak Regional Preserve and Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park,” EBRPD officials said.
Some shoreline parks and all paved regional trails are not affected and remain open.
For the most up-to-date air quality maps, residents can visit airnow.gov. More health information about wildfire smoke is available online at www.acphd.org/wildfire-smoke.
Editor’s note: Information from the Bay City News Service was used in this report.
