(The Center Square) – A Red Flag Warning is in effect through Friday for the North and South Bay, Central Mendocino County, Western Monterey County and most of the Los Padres National Forest for gusty winds and low humidity, Cal Fire announced.
Since January, more than 8,100 wildfires have burned more than 3.9 million acres in California, Cal Fire reported Thursday.
Currently, more than 96,000 residents have been evacuated statewide, 30 people have died, and more than 7,500 structures have been destroyed.
Cal Fire also announced “full containment on two of the largest lightning complexes that began in August. The LNU Complex and the SCU Complex are 100% contained as of this morning.”
Crews are preparing for another round of Red Flag Warnings, it added. More than 17,000 firefighters remain at the front lines of 24 major wildfires across the state.
On Thursday, crews responded to 23 new wildfires statewide, bringing full containment to all fires.
The next 36 hours are expected to be critical for containment efforts due to winds reaching up to 30 mph sweeping through the hills of Napa County.
The Glass Fire expanded its reach this week and continues to threaten more than 28,000 homes and other structures.
It is the fourth major blaze in the northern Californian region in three years. Since mid-August, five of the six largest fires in the state’s history have broken out.
In August, fires blazed from Southern to Northern California; three burned more than 140,000 acres in the Bay Area region alone, according to a Mercury News report.
Gov. Gavin Newsom toured Napa County Thursday saying the state was putting “all we have in terms of resources” into fighting the fires, especially over the next 36 hours fighting high winds.
Within one month’s time, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire, hired an additional 830 firefighters on top of its 858-person seasonal force. Historically, the state has relied on a state prison program using incarcerated inmates to fight wildfires, but they are not enough to contain an historic number of fires.
In August, Newsom called on three western states for help: Arizona, Nevada and Texas. He also called on Canada and Australia.
In late August, firefighters and aircraft from 10 states arrived in California after fires had scorched 991 square miles and destroyed more than 500 homes and other structures, covering a collective 771,000 acres.
At least 227 Arizona firefighters are helping battle wildfires in California, Colorado, and Oregon, according to the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
The Arizona National Guard also reportedly sent an additional 30 citizen-soldiers to California, including three UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters equipped with wildfire suppression capabilities.
Texas firefighters and support personnel first arrived in California in August, including 44 firefighters, 10 fire trucks and two command vehicles. By mid-September, another 190 firefighters, 50 fire trucks and 10 command vehicles from 56 Texas fire departments, were deployed to Californa.
This article was originally published on Since January, California fires have destroyed nearly 4 million acres
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