Storms have been the major cause of the huge fires that California has been battling in its northern regions.

A lightning strike from a storm on August 12, 2014 started the fires in the Happy Camp Complex. There are currently 99,200 acres affected and the fire complex is at 30% containment.

At around 4pm PDT on September 08, the smoke inversion lifted and fire behavior significantly increased on the south and southeast sides of the fire with spotting distances of up to a mile. Multiple spot fires occurred across the Scott River from Swanson Gulch and McGuffy Creek. There was some success with structure defense in the area. On the west and northwest sides of the fire firefighters patrolled current containment lines, mopped-up where necessary, and continued suppression repair. Firefighters patrolled and mopped up along the Highway 96 corridor.

The Klamath National Forest is under an emergency closure order in and around the Happy Camp Complex. More information is available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/klamath/

On Aug. 29 the Frying Pan and Faulkstein Fires merged; the combined perimeter of the two fires is referred to as the Frying Pan Fire. The acres recorded are the cumulative acres for all 17 fires in the Happy Camp Complex.

The following 14 fires are included in the Happy Camp Complex and are 100% contained: Delta (150 acres), Jackson (29 acres), Sutcliffe (27 acres), Thompson (17 acres), Tims (13 acres), Ranch (6 acres), Huckleberry (5 acres), Bear (4 acres), China (3 acres), Mill (2 acres), Luther 1 (.4 acres), El Capitan (.2 acres), Luther 2 (.1 acres), and Noranda (.1 acres). The 256.8 acres for these fires, 185 acre Kemper Fire, 5,225 acre Falkstein Fire, and all acres of the Frying Pan fire are included in the complex total

A storm moved across Siskiyou County on July 29, 2014 with little moisture and a significant amount of lightning – with over 955 down strikes recorded. As of August 1st, the lightning had resulted in at least 26 lightning caused fires on the Happy Camp/Oak Knoll, Salmon/Scott Ranger District, and Goosenest Ranger District. These fires are now being managed as the July Complex; the Whites Fire, Man Fire, Log Fire, Leef Fire and Rays Fire. Information about each fire appears below:

Whites Fire – 33,763 acres, 98% contained. Crews are continuing work on Fire Suppression Repair by removing hazard trees, rocks and debris. Resource advisers are working with fire crews to identify and repair areas affected by fireline construction activities and any areas requiring construction of erosion control measures.

Man Fire- 7,236 acres, 16% contained. The Man Fire is burning in the Marble Mountain Wilderness near Man Eaten Lake, about 14 miles northwest of Etna. This fire was caused by lightning on August 12. Crews continue to maintain full-suppression efforts, including use of Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics — utilizing geographic features and natural barriers to reduce impacts to the wilderness values.

Log Fire – 3,632 acres, 100% contained. Interior smoke may continue to be visible over the fire area. Suppression repair efforts are ongoing, as crews continue to monitor and mop up remaining hot spots.

Leef Fire – 17 acres, 100% contained. The fire is in patrol status.

Rays Fire – 21 acres, 100% contained. The fire is located on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

The remnants of the Beaver Fire smouldering can be seen in this image. The Beaver Fire started with a lightning strike on July 30, 2014,16 miles NW of Yreka, CA. The fire reached 32, 496 acres but is 100% contained at this time. Acreage affected by the fire includes private lands: 17,881 acres, Klamath National Forest 14,615 acres. There were five outbuildings and one barn destroyed in the fire.

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