As the drought rages on, so do the fires! The Rocky Fire

On July 29th a fire broke out in the area of Morgan Valley Road and Rocky Creek road in Lake County California. Since this fire started near Rocky Creek road it became known as the Rocky Fire. All wildfires or forest fires are given names according to the location where they started. The fire grew quickly because of the outside temperatures, the availability of fuel, and the lack of moisture or rain. The Rocky Fire has so far consumed at least 60,000 acres and as of 8/6/2015 is only 20% contained. The fire has used at least 26 aircraft, 301 Fire engines, 57 dozers, 40 water tenders, and over 3,000 firefighters. Air National Guard equipment has also been used to fight this fore.
The longitude and latitude of the fire is -122.4762475/38.8863538

So far 43 residences, 53 outbuildings destroyed, and 8 structures damaged. Counties effected are Lake, Yolo & Colusa Counties. The Rocky Fire has forced the evacuation of 1,480 people, and at least 13,000 have been asked to vacate their properties.

Calfires public information officer Capt. Ron Oatman said within the last 10 years fire activity in California has been erratic at best citing the lack of moisture and the availability of dry tinder for fuel. Within the last 3 years the rain level has been 24-30 inches below normal.

The Rocky Fire leapt across highways and produced numerous spot fires. Spot fires are caused by firebrands or embers dropping into the dry timber and shrubbery setting off other fires that keep the firefighters scrambling. When I drove down highway 20 I noticed there were numerous locations where spot fires occurred and some were left burning. At that point firefighter’s priorities were protecting and saving structures. I had also noticed firefighters were able to save some structures.
In 2012 NOAA released a report titled “State of the Climate Wildfires,” and in the report they cite the drought as the single biggest cause of wildfires in the US. Especially in California.

When I cover fires, one of the things I do is try to connect with locals or people affected by the fires. And in doing-so, you learn what they need to know and I learn what I need to know, and I get insider secrets to access points. One of the issues the locals in the area are dealing with, is getting up to date real time logistics on the hourly progress of the fire.
Their biggest complaints are when mainstream media go in they only use the juicy footage to air, and they never really provide logistics and real-time up-dates on the ground. Residents and Fire official's hold community meetings almost daily, but yet the residents are still thirsting for more information. I took both my police scanners while I photographed that fire and they both became hovering points for the locals. Everyone wanted to hear what the firefighters were saying about the progress of the fire. That kind of info apparently is not being disseminated at the community meetings. And I had 2 people follow me to locations outside the perimeter just to listen in on the scanner. Those scanner mobile apps don't work.

The US Forest Service just released information about the rising cost of fighting wildfires. The Forest Service spent 16% of their budget on fighting fires in the mid 90’s, but now they state they are spending half of their budgets on fighting them, which is now having an effect on other important duties. The Forest Service has been forced to divert funds away from other resources and put the money into fighting wildfires. The Forest Service is also sounding the alarm that wild land or forest fires should be treated and funded as natural disasters like hurricanes and floods. Climate change has also effected the length of fire seasons. The Forest Service said fire seasons are now 78 days longer than fire seasons in the 1970’s. Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said that “to get a handle on the problem of the high cost of fighting wild land fires they must be treated as emergencies and fund them as such.” He also stated that the fact that people are building structures in harm’s way compounds the problem. All this together has created what they now call Mega Fires.

Sources. Rocky Fire General Info
California Fire Map
As California fires rage, the Forest Service sounds the alarm about sharply rising wildfire costs