Good morning! Cal Fire’s latest IR flight for the Park Fire shows a major firing operation off of roads and dozer lines adjacent to Mill Creek Resort and cabin area, and along Highway 172 toward Childs Meadows. Note north arrow in upper right of following images: 2021 Dixie Fire burn in blue, dozer lines in … Read more
“Firing operations” are among the key tools firefighters use when trying to contain a major fire. To carry out a firing operation, firefighters cut away vegetation to make a line of bare soil ahead of a fire, and then burn the vegetation between that line and the actively burning fire front. Firing operations are difficult … Read more
This article was written as the million-acre Dixie Fire neared its conclusion, in September 2021. Many bad things happened during the two months of action during this firefight, and much of the fire’s growth was affected by fire put on the ground during firefighting. Firing operations are one of the main tools firefighters have at … Read more
The Gifford Fire is burning east of Santa Maria, California, on the NE corner of the San Rafael Wilderness. We talk about the firing operations tactics, and potential outcomes. Cover photo: Los Padres National Forest
Tonight’s Lookout Livestream covered today’s Ponderosa Fire, in Yuba County, taking a detailed look at the incredible fuel loading and fire hazards found across large portions of the Yuba County Foothills. The fire had a very aggressive aerial attack, this afternoon, which knocked the fire down, substantially, and held it to under 100 acres by … Read more
Successful Firing Operation at the Park Fire: A Case Study Satellite imagery by Zeke Lunder Written by Ryan Stephens In late July, we took a trip up Highway 32 to observe the aftermath of a firing operation conducted to control the spread of the Park Fire. This operation was a critical measure to mitigate the … Read more
Plenty of terrible political news out there, today, but if you want to hear two people who thought the other person was full of sh!t on Facebook have a conversation in real life, check out our latest interview. Frank Carroll came onto the Lookout Livestream and discussed the evolution of wildfire policy since 2009, emphasizing … Read more
The Garnet Fire has gobbled about 20 square miles in the past 12 hours. We’ll catch you up on where this new growth is happening. Below, we also have the second half of this livestream, which is focused more on forestry. We split them up so the good forestry info wouldn’t get burned in the … Read more
The Pickett Fire grew significantly this afternoon, driven by steady winds, low humidities, and hot temperatures. The fire is not currently posing a threat to Middletown or Angwin, as far as we can tell. Here are maps captured at 10:30pm, tonight, showing the fire’s spread since 8 am (white line). North arrow in top-right. Areas … Read more
UPDATED 10:30pm, 8/13/2025 Firing operations have been underway on the north end of the Gifford Fire, east of San Luis Obispo, California, in some fashion or another for about 36 hours. This afternoon the fire did what it wanted, with all of that energy, and has pushed over primary firelines in a couple spots. We … Read more
We are adopting a bit more freewheeling format for the Lookout Livestream as we enter peak fire season in California. In this report, Zeke Lunder discussed the Gifford fire, noting its 100,000-acre size and recent growth of 4-6 miles per day. He highlighted the impact of the marine layer on fire behavior and the potential … Read more
Summary Zeke Lunder provided updates on several fires, starting with Dragon Bravo in New Mexico, which is spreading slowly and interacting with previous fire scars. The fire is expected to hit the Cane fire area, potentially being contained there. Monroe Canyon’s fire, driven by drought and wind, is being managed with firing operations. The Gifford … Read more
The Big Cliff Fire, on the Klamath National Forest, in far NW California, looks like it will be with us for awhile. Here is last night’s IR map. Big Cliff Fire Overview The Big Cliff Fire is on a steep slope, making mapped acreage inacurate. The fire is burning inside the “Whites Fire” from 2014, … Read more
A busy day here at The Lookout, and across the west! We started the day looking at intel for the Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon Fires, but quickly got swept up with the developing Big Cliff Fire, on the Klamath National Forest, and finished the afternoon watching the rapidly-unfolding 1-4 Fire, in Susanville. We cover … Read more
Summary Zeke Lunder discussed the Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon fires. Dragon Bravo, burning on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, has destroyed the visitor center and is spreading rapidly, with minimal firefighting success. The fire is expected to reach the Kaibab Lodge, with efforts to slow its progression using drones and strategic firing … Read more
Summary Zeke Lunder discusses the Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon fires, in Northern Arizona and Central Utah, detailing their spread, weather conditions, and firefighting strategies. Dragon Bravo, starting on the North Rim, is moving north, with strong southwest winds and low humidity. Monroe Canyon Fire, in Utah, had a major run several days ago, when … Read more
Today’s Lookout Livestream discusses the Dragon Bravo Fire, on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Northern Arizona, and the Monroe Canyon Fires, in Central Utah. Both are currently being influences by very dry conditions, and strong SW winds. Under the current conditions, the fires are largely uncontrollable, with most firefighting progress being made … Read more
Zeke Lunder provided an update on the Dragon Bravo fire, which has been active for nearly a month and is now 8,000 acres. The fire has destroyed over 70 structures and is moving northeast under prevailing southwesterly winds. Firefighters have conducted firing operations to manage the fire’s intensity but face challenges due to extreme dryness … Read more
UPDATE – Morning of 7/25/2025 The fire is now well-established in the Saddle Mountain Wilderness. It has not breached the 7/21-7/22 firing operations along the northern boundary of the Park into the Kaibab NF, though it has potential to sneak out of the wilderness back onto the Kaibab from the SE. The fire grew in … Read more
Cover photo courtesy of Six Rivers National Forest. Lookout Livestream Overview Maps Summary There was fairly subdued activity over the past 24 hours, with mainly slow, backing progression towards the community of Forks of Salmon. The fire is currently most active in McNeal Creek. The fire is generally not spreading very readily within areas burned … Read more
The firefighters continue to make good progress on the Green Fire north of Shasta Lake. They’ve now completed firing operations down the ridge between Rip Gut Creek and Fenders Ferry Road, and the firing operation is filling in back towards the main body of the fire. On the south flank of the fire, fire lines … Read more
I was in a burn plan writing workshop at Chico State this week, and ran into retired US Forest Service leader, Patty Grantham. She is a Lookout fan, and said yes when I asked her to sit for an interview! We discussed her 41-year career. She detailed her tenure on the Klamath National Forest from … Read more
Zeke Lunder provided a detailed update on the Green Fire, Butler Fire, and Summit Fire in Northern California and southwestern Oregon. The Green Fire, between Redding and Burney, showed significant progression with a slope reversal in late afternoon allowing the fire to run up toward the Low Pass area, in the head of Low Pass … Read more
The Green Fire has been burning for several days in a remote area northeast of Shasta Lake, and poses some special challenges for firefighters. This fire is going to burn for a while, and could reach over 10,000 acres in size. Here is a link to our livestream for this article. Read the material below … Read more
{AI summary, edited lightly by Zeke} Zeke Lunder provides a detailed update on the Madre Fire in Northern California, which has grown to over 72,000 acres. Using satellite imagery and infrared data, he maps the fire’s progress, noting minimal growth between 11 AM and noon. The fire is most active near Caliente Mountain and has … Read more
Since last night, the Palisades Fire has been quite active on the NE corner, between Topanga and the 405 corridor. Also, there have been active firing operations along the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains between Topanga and San Vicente Mountain Park. Tonight’s Lookout Livestream looks at today’s major events on the Palisades Fire, and … Read more
10pm Update – New Fire Spread Toward 405 Freeway and San Fernando Valley After sunset today, the Palisades Fire, influenced by more north-westerly winds, has shifted towards San Fernando Valley and the 405 corridor, with significant activity in Mandeville Canyon. Firing operations were observed to secure control lines, but the fire crossed a retardant line, … Read more
We have been using the Boise Fire as an opportunity to talk about the social aspects of fire management in the Klamath Mountains. If you missed those stories, you can watch them in the two videos embedded at the end of this post. 5pm UPDATE: The maps below show the fire’s location at 2:40pm, today, … Read more
July 30th Update – Ryan Cowper Stephens Firefighting efforts on the Park Fire have yielded notable progress, though the situation remains dynamic, and with some seemingly insurmountable challenges to overcome, particularly on the Northern and Eastern flanks of the fire. The fire continues to burn very actively in remote, steep and inaccessible terrain. The added … Read more
July 28th Update – Ryan Cowper Stephens The Park Fire, which started on July 24, 2024, has rapidly expanded, affecting Butte, Plumas, Shasta, and Tehama counties. As of the latest updates, it has burned approximately 357,341 acres and is now 12% contained. Yesterday we had our first break from extreme burning conditions. The inversion set … Read more