CA Fire Conditions @ 10 AM "Typically What We See In Late Afternoon In Late August & September

[hatrack]

LOWER LAKE, Calif. — Blazes raging in forests and woodlands across California have taken the life of a firefighter and forced hundreds of people to flee their homes as an army of firefighters continue to battle them from the air and the ground.

Twenty-three large fires, many sparked by lightning strikes, were burning across Northern California on Saturday, said state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant. Some 8,000 firefighters were attempting to subdue them, something made incredibly difficult by several years of drought that have dried out California.

"The conditions and fire behavior we're seeing at 10 in the morning is typically what we'd see in late afternoon in late August and September," said Nick Schuler, a division chief with the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "But because of the dry conditions, because of the drought-stricken vegetation accompanied by the steep terrain and winds, we're seeing fire activity that's abnormal for this time of year."

In the Modoc National Forest, about a hundred miles south of Oregon, David Ruhl, an engine captain from South Dakota's Black Hills National Forest, was killed fighting a fast-moving blaze. He had vanished Thursday while fighting the 800-acre fire and his body wasn't recovered until Friday.

EDIT

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/firefighter-killed-hundreds-flee-as-california-blazes-burn/ar-BBlfzTQ

[haikugal]

1. What a shame...my respect to both him and his family.

Thanks for the report...