Red Salmon Complex fire

Red Salmon Complex
The complex on Sept 27, 2020
Date(s)
  • July 27, 2020 (2020-07-27) –
  • November 17, 2020 (2020-11-17)
LocationHumboldt, Trinity and Siskiyou counties, California
Coordinates41°11′06″N 123°25′59″W / 41.185°N 123.433°W / 41.185; -123.433
Statistics[1]
Total fires2
Total area144,698 acres (58,557 ha)
Ignition
CauseLightning
Map
Red Salmon Complex fire is located in California
Red Salmon Complex fire
Location in California

The Red Salmon Complex was a wildfire that burned 144,698 acres (58,557 ha) in Humboldt, Trinity, and Siskiyou County in Northern California during the 2020 California wildfire season. On July 27, lightning strikes in the Trinity Alps Wilderness started two fires, the Salmon Fire and the Red Fire, which eventually merged.[2] As the fire grew, hazardous smoke levels surrounded Forks of Salmon, Orleans, Yreka, and Weed.[3]

Progression

The fire was first reported on July 27, 2020. It was caused due to lightning strikes in July and August 2020 in California.[1] The fire's containment process was slow, only reaching 5% containment within 10 days, and wasn't contained until November 17.[4][5][1] Cooler weather stopped the growth of the fire, which led to its containment in November.[6]

Effects

The fires have devastated the air quality in Siskiyou County, and can be hazardous to some people, and Forks of Salmon was evacuated.[7] Forests like Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity and Klamath national forests also had a lot of land burnt down by the complex, and therefore, temporarily closed.[1][8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Red Salmon Complex - InciWeb the Incident Information System". InciWeb. July 27, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "THE RED SALMON COMPLEX NOW 10,178 ACRES AND 35% CONTAINED". kymkemp.com. August 13, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  3. ^ "Outlook Editor" (PDF). North Coast Journal. September 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  4. ^ "RED SALMON COMPLEX GROWS TO 4,284 ACRES WITH 5% CONTAINMENT". kymkemp.com. August 6, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  5. ^ "Northern California Geographic Area Coordination Center". gacc.nifc.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  6. ^ "Teams assess damage from Red Salmon Complex". kobi5.com. October 27, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  7. ^ "Red Salmon Fire Nearly 92,000 Acres". North Coast Journal. September 14, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  8. ^ "Shasta-Trinity National Forest - Alerts & Notices". fs.usda.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2020.