On Thursday, smoke from the Lava fire suffused Highway 97 in Weed (Calif.) (Noah Berger/Associated Press).Although it's the largest and most destructive wildfire to scorch California this season, for a short time last week, firefighters thought they had the Lava fire under control.They could not have been more wrong.A week ago, the fire had grown to such an extent that it was generating a smoke cloud as high as Mt. Shasta, which triggered mass evacuations and resulted in a fatal shooting, firefighters left Shasta-Trinity National Forest claiming they had contained the fire to just a quarter-acre.Although the incident is still under investigation, initial assessments suggest that it is yet another example of how drought, record heat, and other factors conspire to increase the risk, severity, and unpredictability this fire season.The battle was complicated further by the conflict between nearby marijuana grow operations and craggy volcanic formations.According to Adrienne Freeman (spokeswoman for Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Northern California), the fire was small until it became large.The lightning strike triggered the fire, which was ignited by a rash 83 lightning strikes that occurred on June 24, in conditions similar to last year's lightning siege.At least four fires were started by the strikes, and all but one were contained to less than a tenth acre.Around 8:35 p.m., emergency responders received a report about smoke coming from an area of ancient lavas located approximately 3.5 miles northeastern of Weed.Freeman stated that authorities weren't sure where the fire was located, so both battalions from U.S. Forest Service and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection showed up.It was almost midnight by the time the crews could get to the fire and begin their work. Freeman stated that they eventually found the area under federal jurisdiction. The Cal Fire battalion then left.She said that firefighters worked all day June 25 and into the morning to put a line of containment around the fire.Continue the storyHowever, it is notoriously difficult to extinguish flames that have taken root in old volcanic flows. Freeman explained that it is basically a layer upon layer, made up of broken rock with stands of trees, grass, and shrubs.Helicopters dropped 7.920 gallons water on Friday to try and submerge the porous volcanic rock.Fire officials believed that the fire had been extinguished by 4 p.m. on June 25, Freeman stated.She said that they take off their gloves to use their hands to detect heat. They also look for visible smoke.After waiting to see if any came up, the crews left at 6:30 p.m. She said.She said that authorities received a report about a glowing object in the area an hour later. Initial thought was that it was a new fire, but they were certain that it had already been extinguished.Freeman stated that the Forest Service crews found the fire had survived and began working on it throughout the night.However, things got worse when the winds picked up.This is just one thing about Mt. Freeman stated that Shasta is unpredictable. Winds can be very unpredictable. The mountain makes its own weather.The fire was contained to half of its original size by the morning of June 26. Multiple agencies sent firefighters. C-130 air tankers were sent by the Nevada Air National Guard and California Air National Guard to mark the first activation of military firefighting planes since 2012.Despite their best efforts the fire grew exponentially as the wind pushed the temperature up and the winds blew it uphill. Nearby Mt. According to the National Weather Service, Shasta City set daily records on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Sunday's record of 103 degrees was the highest temperature in June, according the National Weather Service.Residents watched in horror as flames rose to the heights of 10 acres, 80, and 220. The 25% limit was reached. Some areas received evacuation warnings. They were converted to evacuation orders Monday evening. Highway 97 was engulfed by flames.As law enforcement officers helped to evacuate Mt. Shasta Vista subdivision is home to many cannabis farms owned mainly by Hmong families. Siskiyou County has been fighting for water restrictions.According to the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office, around 8:30 p.m., an alleged man tried to drive around a block and pointed a gun at officers. Authorities said that he was shot and killed by Sheriffs Deputies and officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Etna Police Department.According to Eric Alan Berg's statement, the Hmong man was killed in front of his three children and wife. Eric Alan Berg is an attorney who represented several residents of the subdivision in legal matters.The county passed an ordinance in May banning trucks transporting more than 100 gallons water from certain roads. This was done to curb illegal growth. The ordinance has been criticized by some residents as being racist, since the roads are in predominantly Hmong areas.Berg stated that water trucks were still blocked from entering the subdivision even as the fire approached. A law firm investigator witnessed residents using shovels, bare hands, to put out the flames.Berg stated that firefighters were not actively fighting the fire as of Tuesday afternoon. He referred to the incident in a humanitarian emergency.The incident management team spokesperson handling the fire denied that.Crews were required to leave the area during officer-involved shots. However, once the area was safe, they returned to the area and engaged in fighting fire. Michelle Carbonaro, public relations officer for California Incident Management Team 14, said that crews were able to return to the area as soon as it was safe. It was only a short time.The fire had burned 13,330 acres by Tuesday morning and was 19% contained. It sent up a massive column of smoke while chewing through the dry brush.Freeman stated that when a plume-dominated flame gets wind, it is when it spreads.According to Brian Nieuwenhuis (Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Medford), intense fires can heat the atmosphere so much that smoke plumes rise and create a pyrocumulus clouds.He said that if you can create the right atmosphere conditions, the heat pump will create its own circulation. It's a heat pump, which is what I have heard called before. It takes all heat and shoots it up into the atmosphere.At 38,000 feet, the Lava fire's pyrocumulus cloud grew more than twice as high as Mt. According to the weather service, Shasta is itself.According to Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, such clouds can create self-reinforcing feedback that causes the fire to grow in size and intensity.He said that these are the conditions in which fires can be self-sustaining. They produce stronger winds close to themselves.Predictable conditions are crucial to guide firefighters in their decision-making. Freeman explained that firefighters know that winds in a river drainage will blow upslope if temperatures are warm in the afternoon, and downslope if they get colder.She said that Mt. Shasta.Carbonaro stated that the fire had been reduced to 24,460 acres by Saturday and was 36% contained. Crews were helped by cooler temperatures and calmer winds. The evacuation orders were downgraded from warnings to alerts. There were no fire-related deaths. An official assessment of structural damage was being conducted by a county-led team.Freeman stated that although the area in which the fire began has had a history of frequent blazes, firefighters have been able to keep them small.Authorities will investigate the reasons for this change once they are done fighting fires.Freeman suggested that one possibility was that the fire traveled through the roots of the plants that live in the lava rock.She said that the root systems are unusually dry and it is not common for us to see such fuel conditions at this time of year. They will be able to produce heat or fire if they are sufficiently dry.This could indicate that the response was sufficient to put out the fire in most years, but not enough to withstand the extremes of this season.Swain at UCLA calls this the mismatch between time-honed expectation and conditions that is increasingly producing fire behavior, which no one believed to be shifting baseline syndrome.He said that there are many reasons, but the most important is that climate change has caused more intense fires to grow faster than ever before.Swain stated that June fires are becoming more like August and September fires. We are seeing August and September fires behave differently than we have seen in the past, except in extreme conditions.This story first appeared in Los Angeles Times.
