View in browser   US Edition | 3 July 2021

Academic rigor, journalistic flair

Here’s how easily a wildfire can start when it’s as hot and dry out as the West is right now: A tractor mowing grass in the heat of the day set off a spark in my neighborhood last week. Within minutes, a wildfire was racing toward homes up the hill. About a dozen homes had to be evacuated while fire crews fought to contain the blaze. By the time they got it out, the fire had burned nearly 40 acres. Most of the U.S. West is that tinder-dry right now, and we’re headed into a holiday known for people playing with fire. That’s why over 150 wildfire scientists are urging Westerners to forgo the fireworks this July Fourth weekend. They explain in an article this week why the record-hot, dry west is so susceptible to burning right now and how human activities, the cause of most fires in populated areas, spike every year on July 4. As the authors write, there are better ways to celebrate. My local fire crew recommends a glow-stick dance party. This week we also liked articles about the close ties between government infrastructure spending and social engineering throughout American history, why more robots are not being used in the search and discovery mission in Miami, and the role of university boards of trustees and the Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure vote. Stacy Morford Environment and Climate Editor

Richard Earl GoatesMcCloudians-McCloudites

1h  · A challenging day on the ground today for firefighters. The winds appear to have pushed the fire outside the lines on the northeast and east lines in many areas. It appears the fire has made it to the Military Pass road now and has spotted across that also. The Western Line over by Lake Shastina looks really good as does the Majority of the entire Western line. The areas of Concern currently are pretty much the entire Eastern Line. McCloud will probably be smokey for many days as the Salt Fire smoke is coming up the Canyon. Time to break out those Air Purifiers and Air Filters and if you don’t have any, Amazon will bring you one in 2-3 days if needed. The R.H was “Very Low” for most of the day today in the Mt Shasta and Weed areas. Actually lower than Phoneix Arizona if you can believe that! Relative Humidity is increasing towards the evening so that should help some. Stay safe everyone!

Lake Shastina Fire Dept.

1h  · 7/2/2021 Lava Fire Update.Neighbors,

Current status of the fire is 23,849 acres with 27% containment. The fire continues to actively burn in the Bolum and Whitney Creek areas. Division T which runs parallel to Lake Shastina and posed the largest threat to our community is looking great. I have personally checked on this division multiple times a day and for the last 24 hours I have only seen one tree still smoking. I am confident that this area of the fire does not pose any threat to our community at this time.There have been numerous inquiries about the ribbon or flagging on all of the homes in our community. These were placed there for two separate reasons. The first was during the evacuation process. Most of this ribbon was orange or pink and simply stated that your home had been told to evacuate, and the color of the ribbon did not indicate whether you decided to leave or not. The other ribbon you may see is green. This ribbon was placed by private contractors hired by your insurance company. This green ribbon indicated that your property had been checked and prepped by these insurance companies. The writing on the ribbon indicates which engine number from this private contractor prepped your house. What does prepping mean? These contractors use a variety of tactics to help make your home fire safe. Some of these include removing fire wood from the side of your house, taping up vents to your attic, and pre-treating the home with gel or foam which acts as a fire retardant. The insurance company may have left a brochure or pamphlet on your door or placed a phone call to let you know they are in there. If you have further information about this process I would recommend contacting your insurance company.Finally I would like to explain to our residents that you will most likely see fire and glowing embers at night for many days and possibly weeks. Often times these embers look a lot closer than they actually are. A tree burning 10 miles away may appear to be just a few hundred feet from your home. I want to assure you that fire resources are working 24/7 on this fire and if there is any threat to you or your home they will be on it right away.Chief Pappas

Donna Sager was the first to notice how the Lava Fire map resembles a baby dragon. And the mountain seems to be protecting McCloud, but we all knew that already, right?

As a reminder fireworks are prohibited on all National Forest lands. The cities of Etna, Ft. Jones, Yreka, Mt. Shasta and Weed have also banned the use of all fireworks this year. Please be smart and celebrate responsibly.

Unfortunately, nothing unexpected here.

Lava 7/2/21 23,849 acres 27% contained

Salt 7/2/21 5,043 acres 0% contained

U.S. Forest Service – Shasta-Trinity National Forest

2h  · Update 3:30 P.M. : The #SaltFire is approximately 4,500 Acres 0% contained. As the temperatures increase this afternoon fire activity is picking up on the Salt Fire. The fire plan is to keep the Salt Fire east of Interstate 5, east of the Sacramento arm of Shasta Lake, north of Gilman road, and west of the McCloud arm of Shasta Lake. Weather conditions and terrain are making the suppression efforts challenging as fire personnel continue to construct containment lines. An incident management team is being in-briefed to take management of the fire. From Cal Trans Facebook page “although I-5 is currently open in both directions, there are lane closures in place that are impacting the flow of traffic. On northbound I-5, the #2 and #3 lanes are closed from Gilman Road to just south of Antlers. On southbound I-5, the #3 lane is closed from Antlers Bridge to approximately 2 miles north of Gilman Road. The #SaltFire remains very active in this area and roadway conditions are subject to change at any time depending on wildfire behavior and operations” This is a rapidly evolving situation please stay in tune with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office and Cal Trans for any additional evacuations and changing road conditions or road closures#ShastaCountySheriffsOffice#CalTrans#ShastaTrinityNF