1 Month in and California's Dixie Fire Shows Little Signs of Slowing Down
'Crews worked all night, but there’s just a lot of fire,' Jake Cagle of the U.S. Forest Service said
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Eugene Garcia/AP Photo
Burnt vehicles are seen in Greenville, Calif., after the Dixie Wildfire Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021.
It's been one month since the Dixie Fire exploded in Northern California, incinerating an entire town and forcing thousands of people to flee their homes, and it's showing little signs of slowing down.
An already difficult wildfire fight could become ever harder this weekend as firefighters brace for triple-digit temperatures and the potential of dry lightning.
Footage of Greenville, Calif., shows the destruction left behind by the Dixie fire.
Isolated thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada could bring some moisture, but also gusty and erratic winds that could spread the fire, officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CalFire, said during a Friday morning briefing. Lightning could spark new blazes even as crews try to surround a number of other forest fires that were ignited by lightning last month.
The Dixie Fire has already consumed nearly 518,000 acres across four counties, two national forests and one national park. It was 31 percent contained as of Friday. An estimated containment date is still weeks away, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Flames from the Dixie Fire consume a home in the Indian Falls community of Plumas County, Calif., Saturday, July 24, 2021. The fire destroyed multiple residences as it tore through the area.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Flames consume a home on Highway 89 as the Dixie Fire tears through the Greenville community of Plumas County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
The Way Station bar burns as the Dixie Fire tears through the Greenville community of Plumas County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. The fire leveled multiple historic buildings and dozens of homes in central Greenville.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Cal Fire firefighters battle the Dixie Fire near Prattville in Plumas County, Calif., on Friday, July 23, 2021.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Battalion Chief Sergio Mora watches as the Dixie Fire tears through the Greenville community of Plumas County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. The fire leveled multiple historic buildings and dozens of homes in central Greenville.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
April Phillips, a Chester resident evacuated from the Dixie Fire, holds her dog Sissy Lala at a Susanville, Calif., evacuation shelter on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Jackie Armstrong, a Chester resident evacuated from the Dixie Fire, speaks with daughter Zoey Armstrong, 3, at a Susanville, Calif., evacuation shelter on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
This photo shows cars and homes destroyed by the Dixie Fire line central Greenville on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, in Plumas County, Calif.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
This photo shows cars and homes destroyed by the Dixie Fire line central Greenville on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, in Plumas County, Calif.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
California Gov. Gavin Newsom walks over debris at the Greenville Post Office, which was destroyed by the Dixie Fire, on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Plumas County, Calif.
