For the past week, areas across the Plumas National Forest have seen regular afternoon and evening thunderstorm activity with abundant lightning, with the most strikes occurring last Thursday and Friday. These storms have generally been wet, with moderate to heavy precipitation. While the precipitation with these storms is welcome, it increases the amount of time for holdover lightning fires to become visible.
“We have had hundreds of lightning strikes on the Plumas National Forest over the past week and there are more thunderstorms in the forecast,” said Plumas National Forest Fire Management Officer Martin Senter.
There is a chance of thunderstorms from Wednesday July 30 through Friday Aug. 1. A warming and drying trend is set to begin over the weekend and is forecasted to continue through next week. This weather pattern will help make holdover lightning fires more visible. Holdover lightning fires can smolder for days and even weeks following a thunderstorm. With a series of wet thunderstorms, it can take several days of dry and warm weather for these fires to become visible.
“Three confirmed lightning fires were suppressed last weekend, but we are fairly certain more will become visible in the coming weeks as conditions dry out,” Senter said.
The largest fire was approximately a quarter acre, with two burning snags approximately 60 feet apart. The other two fires were fully suppressed at a tenth of an acre.
The Plumas National Forest has been conducting reconnaissance flights during the current lightning event in an effort to detect lightning-caused fires. Firefighters will continue to monitor conditions and respond to lightning fires as they are discovered in the coming days.
Area residents and visitors are asked to be careful with anything that can spark a wildfire and to help prevent additional fires so firefighters can continue to focus on lightning fire detection and response. The public can also help by reporting suspected wildfires by calling 911.
“Even as we are supporting other forests and agencies in wildfire response, the Plumas National Forest has firefighting resources available to respond to local incidents,” Senter said. “However, we still need the public to be vigilant and help prevent wildfires, especially as we expect to respond to lightning fires as they are discovered in the coming days.”
Plumas National Forest remains under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. This includes limiting campfires to specifically designated campgrounds.
