AGENDA 21 RADIO

BY CHRISS STREET

California Fire Authorities listed 82 active fires burning across the state with the worst devastation in the Wine Country where 9 major fires have burnt over 84,000 acres, causing at least 15 deaths and 240 residents missing.

The Wine Country may catch a break as clouds roll in and temperatures are expected to fall from a high of 82-degrees on Tuesday, to a high of 77-degrees and an almost record low of 38 degrees on Wednesday night.

The Diablo winds that gusted to over 68-miles an hour on Monday and funneled down mountain passes and canyons to cause 15 new fires north of the San Francisco Bay on Monday, have subsided. Tuesday saw 12-miles an hour average winds, with gusts 22 miles an hour. The cooling trend is expected to last through Saturday, then temperatures will spike to a high of 84 on Sunday, according to AccuWeather.

Only one Wine Country fire was contained by 5 pm Tuesday. But firefighters contracted to bring in their ultimate weapon this afternoon as the world’s only 747-400 Supertanker (Tail number 944) swept in to dump 19,600 gallons of fire retardant on each pass. Cal Fire has contracted plane to be based out of McClellan Air Force Base near Sacramento for at least the next 10 months.

To put 944 in perspective, Cal Fire operates the largest firefighting aviation fleet in the world composed of 14 OV-10A quick response scout aircraft; 23 Grumman S-2T airtankers that can each drop 1,200 gallons of water; and two 11 UH-1H Super Huey helicopters that can drop about 600 gallons of water.

Vice President Pence who has been in the state for a $5 million fundraising swing visited the California Office of Emergency Services near Sacramento on Tuesday. He also called California Governor Jerry Brown to assure that The Trump Administration is monitoring the situation has directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to approve federal fire assistance grants and is committed to providing public assistance to help the county and city governments when they are ready to rebuild.

It is believed that at least 20 of the region’s 650 wineries have been severely damaged or destroyed. Federal, state and local fire authorities have put 2,500 professional firefighters on the Wine Country fires. It is believed that at least another 500 volunteer firefighters have joined the battle.

The Mercury News reported that Napa and Sonoma Counties have suffered over 1,000 more wildfires this year than in 2016, with over 225,000 acres burned since January 1. The National Interagency Fire Center 2017 incident count for the Western states first nine months of the year was 50,000 fires that have burned over 8.5 million acres. That is more than double the number in the first three quarters of 2016.