Wildfire — Mountains Southwest Shasta County To Northern Lake County, California

2019-09-05 · Mountains Southwest Shasta County To Northern Lake County, California

Event narrative

On September 5 thunderstorms developed over interior northern California sparking several wildfires within the region. This particular fire was named the South Fire and it grew up to 5,332 acres, with the majority of the fire growth occurring between September 5-21. Terrain is steep and rugged out there, which made containment difficult and called for road closures at times. The last major update that the Shasta-Trinity National Forest Service put out was on September 21, 2019; however, on November 27, 2019 at 10AM PST, they reported the fire was officially 100% contained and controlled.

Wider weather episode

An upper level low with embedded disturbances brought isolated showers and thunderstorms to the region. Model data indicated that any available moisture would be

above 700 millibars so rainfall with any thunderstorms would be limited. These conditions, combined with seasonably dry fuels and moderate to poor humidity recoveries, led to fire weather concerns for northern California.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 858275. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.