West Coast Fire Report – 8/9/2025

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

Big Cliff Fire – 8/1/2025

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

Susanville, Big Cliff, Dragon, and Monroe – 7/31/2025

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

Satellite Snapshot of Dragon and Monroe – 7/30/2025

Summary Zeke Lunder provided a midday update on the Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon fires, using satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2. The Dragon Bravo fire, active on the western flank, has seen significant firefighting efforts, including drone-assisted ignitions. The fire has advanced a mile and a half in 12 hours and is … Read more

Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon Fires – 7/30/2025

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

Dragon Bravo and Monroe Canyon Fires – 7/28/2025

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

The Dragon Romps On – 7/26/2025

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

The Park Fire Revisited – Part 1

This video shares video, maps, and photos collected in the year since the Park Fire burned over 400,000 acres in Northern California, north of Chico, California. The audio for this episode was recorded on 7/31/2024, during an interview for the Blue Dot Report, a week into the fire. The Blue Dot Report is a science … Read more

The Punk-Ass Dragon Bravo Fire

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

Butler Fire Report – 7/22/2025

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

Understanding Wildfire Severity

Introduction to Today’s Video Wildfire ‘severity’ describes the ecological effects of a fire. At a landscape-scale, severity is measured using satellite imagery. This process uses images of the vegetation from before and after the fire to create colored maps which show how much plant life is still alive after the fire. In this episode, we … Read more

NorCal Fire Effects and the Grand Canyon Fiasco – 7/15/2025

Today’s Lookout Livestream We look at the potential for continued spread of the Green Fire, north of Shasta Lake, the Summit Fire, in the Marble Mountain Wilderness, near the town of Etna, California, and the Butler Fire, east of Somes Bar, on the Salmon River. Also, we take a first look at the Dragon Bavo … Read more

Patty Grantham Interview

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

NorCal and SW Oregon Wildfire Report – 7/9/2025

The Green, Butler, and Summit Fires continue to spread in far-Northern California. We look at today’s events on each fire, and at the Neil Creek, Demming, and Elk Fires, in Southern Oregon. Today’s Livestream  Situation Status Hot weather has settled in over much of NorCal, under a ridge of high atmospheric pressure. This is … Read more

NorCal Fire Report – 7/6/2025

Our 7/6/2025 NorCal Fire Report provided a detailed update on the Green Fire, Butler Fire, and Summit Fires in Northern California. This episode was sponsored by QTAC, WATERAX Pumps, and FyreBx. The Green Fire, located north of Redding, has grown from 96 acres on July 3 to 1,100 acres by July 6, doubling in size … Read more

Green Fire Is Growing, California Fuels – 7/5/2025

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

NorCal Fire Report – 7/4/2025

{Written by a robot, skimmed by Zeke} Zeke Lunder discussed the active wildfires in Northern California on July 4, 2025. Key fires included 2 small fires in Butte County, the Green Fire near Round Mountain/Shasta Lake, the Horse Fire between Lakehead and Trinity Lake, the Helena Fire west of Weaverville, and the Summit, Butler, and … Read more

NorCal Lightning Fires and Madre Fire – 7/3/2025

7/3/2025 California Fire Report Zeke Lunder discussed the current fire situation in Northern California, highlighting several active fires. The Green Fire near Round Mountain is 100 acres, the Horse Fire near Lake Shasta is 220 acres, and the Helena Fire near the North Fork of the Trinity River is in difficult terrain. The Madre Fire … Read more

Progression of the Palisades Fire

In this Lookout Livestream, we reviewed post-fire satellite imagery from Maxar and fire progression maps from Cal Fire Incident Management Team 2 to describe how the Palisades Fire spread, and the tactics used to contain it. The fire started near Skull Rock and quickly spread across Topanga Canyon Road and Palisades Drive. It advanced to … Read more

Recent Fire History of Southern California – With Tim Chavez

Destructive Fires Are Not A New Thing in SoCal! We just wrapped up an interview with my longtime friend and colleague, Tim Chavez, about the history of large, damaging Santa Ana wind-driven wildfires in Southern California. Some areas around Malibu have burned 5 times in the past 60 years! A summary of the interview and … Read more

Shoe Fire Initial Assessment – 10/9/2024

The Shoe Fire is burning in timber on Fenders Ferry Road, between McCloud River and Pit River, north of Lake Shasta. It has been building steadily since about 1:45pm, in an area with very little fire history, poor access, and heavy fuels. Webcam here: https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/15596 Area Fire History The Bagley Fire burned to the north, … Read more

Park Fire – 7/30/2024

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

Park Fire Update – 7/26/2024

Good morning, Here are updated maps for the #ParkFire, flown about 2am, 7/26/2024. The white line represents about 8 hours of fire growth. Interpretation in the individual photo captions. Today’s weather forecast is really not great, with high atmospheric instability and strong SSW and SW winds. We’ll do a livestream tonight, and a quick one … Read more

Understanding Fire Hazard: What is Fuel Moisture?

If you live in an area with high wildfire hazard, understanding the factors that raise or lower fire risk on any given day can help you live in better harmony with your surroundings. In the Sacramento Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills this week, hot and windy conditions have prompted a red flag warning for … Read more

Exploring the Conditions that Led to the Camp Fire, Five Years Later

The fire exploded across Paradise, reducing thousands of homes to ashes within a few hours and killing 85 people who couldn’t escape the flames. At its peak, the Camp Fire, which ignited five years ago this week, on Nov. 8, 2018, spread as far as 80 football fields every minute. The Camp Fire started in … Read more

Will Harling on Fires in the Klamath

Will Harling and I are sort of like brothers from different mothers. Both of us were raised up by the long-haired wolves, timber fallers, mechanics, railroaders, gold miners, and other outlaws who populate the hillbilly sticks of far Northern California. First opening day fishing trip with the grown-ups, Mill Creek, California, 1985. Not surprisingly, as … Read more

Anvil Fire – 9/24/2023

Rain is coming, but will high winds spread the fire farther north before it begins in earnest? We take a quick look at IR mapping from the evening of 9/23/2023 and assess current fire spread and tactics. We also watch footage of a very low drop from a DC-10 airtanker on the NE corner of … Read more

Anvil Fire and NW California Fires – 9/23/2023

Rain is coming! In today’s video, we look at weather satellites, assess the current lay of the Anvil and SRF Complex Fires, and talk about lighting large prescribed fires out ahead of weather systems. Also, we interview Rachel Smith, Klamath National Forest Supervisor. We couldn’t get a video interview, so had to use a puppet. … Read more