Firefighters on alert for lightning-sparked fires this week

(FOX40.COM) — Thunderstorms have produced thousands of lightning strikes in California since Sunday, resulting in some fires.

FOX40 spoke with Cal Fire Unit Chief Brian Estes on Monday afternoon in Auburn, where crews are ready to deploy where needed. Estes said California saw about 20,000 lightning strikes in 24 hours between Sunday and Monday, primarily north of Placer County into the northeastern corner of the state. From those lightning strikes, about 100 fires were reported.

Estes said most of the lightning fires have been kept very small because extra firefighting resources have been pre-deployed into parts of the state expecting the most thunderstorms. Additionally, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service have many ways to spot those fires early.

“The number of cameras that we have now, and especially with the artificial intelligence component of our cameras out of our Grass Valley ECC (Emergency Command Center),” Estes explained. “All of our cameras here across our region have an AI component to them. So they’re not just an observation post. They’re actually detecting new starts and new columns and smoke on the horizon.”

The state also has a series of lightning detection devices that are not cameras.

“They can detect those strikes, where they happened, how intense they were, if they were cloud-to-cloud or actually a positive strike with the ground,” Estes said. “And obviously they give us the opportunity to see if there was a fire ignition that came with that.”

When thunderstorm clouds collapse, they can send strong gusts of wind rushing to the ground. Those outflow winds can cause fires to rapidly grow in size.

“And those can be tremendously dangerous, not only for the public, but also for our firefighters who are battling those fires,” Estes said.

Travelers to the high Sierra are advised to be alert for the possibility of thunderstorms each afternoon through midweek.