California and US West Threatened by Wildfires Over Coming Days

The fire threat across the U.S. West will rise Friday and remain dangerous through Saturday for many areas, including Northern California, as lightning strikes risk igniting dry vegetation.

Critical fire weather conditions and dry lightning will prevail across the western U.S., with the “Four Corners” region where Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona come together under the greatest threat, the Storm Prediction Center said. There are red flag fire warnings across Northern California, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Arizona, according to the National Weather Service.

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“Abundant lightning on dry fuels will likely create new ignitions across the region,” the weather service said in an advisory issued in southern Oregon. “Any fires that develop could spread rapidly. Numerous new fire starts could overwhelm the initial attack.”

Wind gusts in the western mountains are forecast to be as strong as 55 miles (89 kilometers) per hour.

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The largest blaze in California is the Lost Fire in Kern County that has burned 4,324 acres and is only 5% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It is more or less about halfway between Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo in southern California.

Top photo: A Cal Fire firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant ahead of the Sandy Fire on May 18. Bloomberg.