(KRON) — This summer’s wildfires are mostly burning far out in the wilderness of Northern California. Thanks to remote cameras, we can see what fire crews are going up against.
Infernos are being recorded 24/7 by a network of cameras run by a fire intelligence gathering group, AlertWildfire. Meteorologists and firefighters alike use the videos to study extreme fire behavior and figure out strategies for attacking blazes like the Dixie Fire.
Here are some of the mega-wildfires that have burned in Northern California this season:
Caldor Fire
Size: 117,704 Acres
Containment: 9%
Began: August 14, 2021, approx. 7 p.m.
Location: South-west of Lake Tahoe
Cause: Under Investigation
Estimated containment date: August 31, 2021
Northern California’s newest major wildfire is the Caldor Fire. When the blaze ignited, flames took off at a catastrophic rate. When a fire grows that fast, it creates its own weather. Spinning vortexes were observed forming within the Caldor Fire’s ominously dark plume.
Dixie Fire
Size: 731,310 acres
Containment: 41%
Began: July 13, 2021, approx. 5:15 PM
Location: Feather River Canyon
Cause: Under Investigation
Estimated Containment Date: September 30, 2021
The Dixie Fire is the largest single wildfire ever in California history.
Beckwourth Complex
(Sugar Fire and Dotta Fires merged)
Size: 105,670 Acres
Containment: 98%
Began: July 3, 2021, approx. 10:30 AM
Location: Sierra Valley
Cause: Lightning
French Fire
Size: 16,002 Acres
Containment: 19%
Began: August 18, 2021, approx. 4:30 PM
Location: East of Lake Isabella in Kern County
Cause: Undetermined
Estimated Containment Date: September 7, 2021
McFarland Fire
Size: 118,624 Acres
Containment: 71%
Began: July 29, 2021 approx. 06:45 PM
Location: McFarland Ridge, south of Highway 36 (Shasta Trinity National Forest)
Cause: Lightning
Estimated Containment Date: None
