Crews have fully contained the Point Fire, just in time for the possibility of lightning striking the North Bay.
More than 360 Cal Fire personnel will continue mopping up the 1,207-acre (488-hectare) fire on Tuesday, June 25, according to a morning status update from the agency.
Thirty machines, 10 hand crews, seven tankers and four dozers were assigned Monday night to finish the work to be done around the Dry Creek Valley, where the fire approached early last week.
Resources will likely be withdrawn from the area on Tuesday as crews move into “patrol mode,” where firefighters scan the area for potential hot spots and ensure post-fire repairs are complete. Cal Fire spokesman Jason Clay said Tuesday.
The Point Fire destroyed 10 structures, three of them homes, and damaged two. A firefighter was injured by a falling branch, but the injury is not life-threatening. More than 300 residents were ordered to evacuate and more than 400 others were given an evacuation warning. The evacuation order was lifted on Wednesday.
Now, with the fire 100% contained, attention has turned to the 19,195-acre Sites Fire in Colusa County and the weather.
According to the National Weather Service, there is a 15% chance of thunderstorms in North Bay on Tuesday and with that begins the possibility of dry lightning and fires.
Although some moisture could fall, most of it will be so light that it will evaporate before reaching the ground, creating the opportunity for dry strikes, said Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Monterey.
Some lightning “pulses” (short bursts of high-intensity electrical current) were already recorded Tuesday morning in Napa and Solano counties and in the Sacramento Valley near Stockton, although no impact has been confirmed.
Given the low chances, if lightning strikes occur, they will be “few and far between,” Murdock said. However, it remains a concern because lightning is one of the “riskiest” elements of fire danger.
Storm chances will decrease through Tuesday night.
Staff writer Madison Smalstig can be reached at [email protected]. On Twitter @madi.smals.
