News

River Fire prompts evacuations south of Salinas, California

August 17, 2020 | 7:13 a.m. PDTThe red and yellow dots on the map represent heat detected by a satellite on the River Fire at 2:18 a.m. PDT August 17, 2020. The locations are estimates and the fire has continued to spread since then.Monday morning at 6 a.m. PDT CAL FIRE reported that the River Fire five miles south of Salinas has burned 2,800 acres and threatens 1,500 structures. Five structures have been damaged but none destroyed. Four firefighters have suffered heat-related injuries.The fire has crossed Pine Canyon Road, CAL FIRE said, and is moving south toward River Road.The map below is from the Orora mapping service that includes a broader assortment of satellites for heat data than the map above. The latest information was from an overflight at 4 a.m. PDT, August 17, 2020 and shows the fire to be a bit closer to River Road. Map of heat detected on the River Fire, via Orora, at 4 a.m. PDT August 17, 2020.Mandatory evacuations were in effect at 6 a.m. PDT August 17 for Pine Canyon Road, Parker Road, Laurel Lane, and Trimble Hill Lane. The evacuation center is at Buena Vista Middle School, 18250 Tara Drive in Salinas. More information about evacuations can be found at CAL FIRE.August 16, 2020 | 8 p.m. PDT The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite on the River Fire at 1:54 p.m. PDT August 16, 2020.CAL FIRE said at 5:40 p.m. Sunday that the River Fire reported at 3:14 a.m. PDT Sunday morning had burned 500 acres. It is in northern California about 5 miles south of Salinas and 6 miles northeast of Carmel Valley. Evacuations are in effect.Sunday afternoon the wind recorded at the Rana Creek Tower near the fire was out of the north at 6 to 12 mph with gusts between 12 and 18. After 6 p.m. it switched to come out of the southwest at 10 mph with gusts to 13, pushing the fire to the northeast toward the valley. The relative humidity in the afternoon was around 30 percent with the temperature in the high 80s.The forecast for Monday is for a high temperature around 90, relative humidity in the afternoon of 35 percent, and wind out of the west at 5 to 10 with gusts up to 21 in the afternoon.The area has not been visited by fire for many years, so there should be abundant fuel available, offering firefighters a high resistance to control.
Go to Source to read more
Author: Bill Gabbert
The post River Fire prompts evacuations south of Salinas, California appeared first on Wildfire Today.