Carr Fire In California - Size And Heat Of Fire Creating Its Own Weather System, Updates On California Fires

Carr Fire in California is so hot it's creating its own weather system 

The Carr Fire raging in Northern California is so large and hot that it is creating its own localized weather system with variable strong winds, making it difficult for experts to predict which way the blaze will spread.

At least 19 people were still reported missing in Shasta County, California, officials said at a community meeting Monday evening, after shifting winds, dry fuel and steep terrain helped the monstrous fire engulf more than 103,000 acres. 

The fire has claimed six lives, including a firefighter and bulldozer operator working to extinguish the blaze.

Authorities have received 48 missing person reports but 29 people have since been found safe, according to Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko.

The fire, which started a week ago, has burned 103,772 acres and is just 23% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. It has scorched an area bigger than the size of Denver. 

Flames have destroyed at least 966 structures in the area, making it one of the top 10 most destructive wildfires in California history. In fact, seven of the 12 most destructive fires have happened since 2015.

"We are seeing more destructive, larger fires burning at rates that we have historically never seen," said Jonathan Cox, Cal Fire regional battalion chief. 

More than 3,300 fire personnel are battling the flames with more than 330 engines and 17 helicopters, Cal Fire reported.

Wildfires like this can get so hot they make pyrocumulus clouds, formations that look like mushroom clouds and can be seen for miles.

Cumulus clouds are usually formed when the sun heats the ground, sending warm air up, where the air cools and condenses to form a cloud. In a wildfire, heat from flames forces the air to rise quickly. Water inside trees and other plants evaporates. The added moisture condenses in the cooler air above.

The clouds look and act like thunderstorms. They can produce lightning and powerful winds in different directions, further complicating efforts of firefighters.

Sometimes, they even contain enough moisture to become a type of cloud that can produce rain -- possibly even putting out the blaze.

High temperatures, low humidity and increased winds are all in the forecast, setting the stage for more explosive fire behavior, Chris Harvey with the Cal Fire Incident Management Team said Sunday.

The National Weather Service also warned that forecast conditions would worsen the situation.

"A dangerous heat wave will continue from California to the Pacific Northwest early this week. Triple-digit heat combined with dry humidity will only exacerbate the ongoing wildfire situation in California," it said on Twitter.

CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said no rain is in the forecast this week.

"Winds in the area of the fires will be locally gusty, with gusts up to 25 mph. The fires are likely to generate their own winds, which could be stronger at times," she said. "Elsewhere across Central and Southern California the story remains similar. Temperatures will remain 5-10 degrees above average for the region, and dry/drought conditions will continue with little to no rain expected throughout the week."

California Fires Map: Get the Latest Updates from Google

California fires are ablaze again this summer, destroying homes and businesses, causing the deaths of at least at least six people, and displacing thousands. With the worst blazes raging across Northern California near Redding with more smaller fires burning across Southern California, the 2018 California wildfires are difficult to keep track of. Thankfully, Google Maps has released its 2018 California fire map that lists updates on the various blazes, as well as a Google Crisis Map with information about air quality, evacuation orders, shelters, fire containment statistics, road closures, and more.

Google’s 2018 Statewide Fire Map for California lists all the active fires in the state for which California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is responding. The continuously updated map is a good way for people not in the midst of the smoke to get a better understanding of the challenges currently facing the Golden State.

Carr Fire

The Carr Fire is California’s deadliest blaze of 2018 so far, covering nearly 100,000 acres near the Northern California city of Redding, destroying more than 700 homes, and claiming the lives of at least six people, including one firefighter, so far. More than 38,000 people have evacuated the area.

The rapidly spreading wildfire began Thursday in the foothills of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and spread down toward Redding and surrounding neighborhoods and roadways including Interstate 5.

The Carr Fire continues to rage, though it is now 20% contained, which refers to how much of a control line has been constructed around a fire to keep it from jumping major roadways and igniting new areas of land. A control line is also referred to as a fire trail, an actual line dug in soil to prevent a fire from burning more brush.

The Carr Fire has stayed in the news not just because of its ferocity and “wall of flame,” as Cal Fire Deputy Chief Scott McLean called it when speaking with NBC News. Video of a so-called firenado from the Carr Fire has gone viral, showing a frightening tornado-like fire vortex that results from a massive wind updraft combined with the heat of a major blaze.

A view of the #CarrFire “Firenado” from the sky pic.twitter.com/HqIt3G1EgW

River and Ranch Fires (Mendocino Complex)

Burning across Mendocino and Lake Counties, these two Northern California wildfires started on Friday, located within 14 miles of one another. The Ranch Fire was at over 35,000 acres as of Monday, and the River Fire has already burned 20,000 acres. Each fire is just 5% contained, according to Santa Rosa, Calif. newspaper The Press Democrat.

Ferguson Fire

The Ferguson Fire, located in the foothills west of Yosemite National Park and Sierra National Forest, has consumed over 56,000 acres and is 30% contained as of Monday.

Whaleback Fire

The Whaleback Fire is burning east of Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lassen National Forest near towns including Susanville. This Northern California wildfire, cause still unknown, began on Friday and has burned more than 14,000 acres. As of Monday, the Whaleback Fire was 20% contained, according to KOLO-TV.

With summer winds fanning the flames of the California fires, causing some blazes to grow and others to merge, these two dynamic maps are worth bookmarking, so you can stay up to date with the latest updates from affected areas in Northern California as well as Southern California.

Fortune will continue to update this post as California’s 2018 summer fires continue to rage.

Indonesia's Lombok Island Quake: Death Toll Continues To Rise

Lombok earthquake: Death toll rises on Indonesian island [Video]

A powerful earthquake has killed at least 14 people and injured more than 160 on Indonesia’s Lombok island, with many people left stranded by landslides.

The quake damaged more than 1,000 houses on the popular tourist island and was felt in a wider area, including on the neighbouring island of Bali, where no damage or casualties were reported.

More than 500 hikers and their guides remain stranded as landslides struck on active volcano Mount Rinjani.

Head of Rinjani national park Sudiyono, who goes by one name, said: ’There are still 560 people trapped. Five hundred are in Segara Anakan area, and 60 are in Batu Ceper.

The US Geological Survey said the 6.4 magnitude quake struck at a depth of only 4.4 miles.

East Lombok district was the hardest hit with 10 deaths, including a Malaysian tourist, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency.

The number of casualties could increase as data is still being collected from other locations on the island, he said.

At least 162 people were injured, including 67 taken to hospital with serious injuries, Mr Nugroho said.

In East Lombok and the provincial capital of Mataram, the quake lasted about 10 seconds, causing residents to flee their homes on to streets and fields, Mr Nugroho said.

He added that most of the fatalities and injuries were caused by falling slabs of concrete.

Television footage showed residents remaining outside, fearing aftershocks, as the injured were being treated on mattresses taken out of their partially damaged houses and patients were wheeled out of a hospital.

Eka Fathurrahman, the police chief in East Lombok, said the Malaysian woman who died was part of a group of 18 Malaysian tourists who had just visited Mount Rinjani when the quake jolted their guesthouse and toppled a concrete wall. Six other people were injured at the guesthouse.

Mr Fathurrahman said many injured people who were treated outside a damaged clinic were taken to the main hospital farther away after more ambulances reached the devastated location in East Lombok’s Sembalun village.

Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency recorded more than 130 aftershocks.

Lombok is known for pristine beaches and mountains. Hotels and other buildings in both locations are not allowed to exceed the height of coconut trees.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Updates From Israel: Russia Won't Force Iran To Leave Israel, Iran Rebuffs Speculation It May Hold Talks With U.S.

Russian Ambassador: We Can't Force Iran To Leave Syria

Russian ambassador: We can’t force Iran to leave Syria

Russia’s ambassador to Israel says his country cannot force Iran to withdraw all of its forces from Syria, despite Israel’s insistence that it do so.

Anatoly Viktorov tells Channel 10 news that the Iranians are “playing a very, very important role in our common and joint efforts to eliminate terrorists in Syria.

“The Iranian presence in Syria… is fully legitimate according to the UN principles and the UN charter,” he continues.

Viktorov says Russia can talk to its “Iranian friends” about a full withdrawal from Syria, as Israel demands, but “we cannot force them.”

He also does not confirm Israeli officials’ statement to the effect that Moscow had offered to keep Iran at a distance of 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border, though he implies that Russia will not oppose continued Israeli airstrikes on Iranian bases in the country, Channel 10 says.

Russian envoy says ‘not up to’ his country to challenge Israeli strikes in Syria

The Russian ambassador says his country wants to see the implementation of “all of the provisions” of the 1974 separation of forces agreement along the Israel-Syria border.

“We agreed that on the other side of the border, there will only be regular units of the Syrian army,” Viktorov tells Channel 10. “The priority is to secure the State of Israel… These are not empty words for Russian foreign policy.”

Asked how Russia and Israel planned to ensure that the agreement was upheld, he says, “No non-Syrian troops should be in the southern deescalation area. Specific details are still under discussion… it would not be fruitful to reveal.”

When Channel 10’s Barak Ravid asks him whether Russia is “okay” with Israel’s reported airstrikes in Syrian territory against Iranian-affiliated targets, Viktorov says, “We are not okay with any forced action. We cannot agree with all actions that are taken by the Israeli government. How can we be satisfied?”

But, asked whether Russia will seek to prevent Israel from carrying out such strikes in the future, he smirks.

“We cannot dictate [to] Israel how to proceed. It is not up to Russia to give Israel freedom to do anything or to prohibit Israel from doing anything.”

Firefighters battle 2 blazes caused by incendiary balloons from Gaza

Firefighters report that there are two fires raging in areas around Gaza, caused by incendiary balloons sent over the border.

A spokesperson says one of the fires is near Saad and the other near Dorot.

Iran rebuffs ‘media speculation’ it may hold talks with US

Iran’s foreign ministry rejects recent reports it may be open to fresh negotiations with the United States, as the country’s currency hit a record low, ahead of the re-imposition of US sanctions.

“The US or parts of the US may express wishes (about talks), but after the (US) illegal withdrawal from the JCPOA and their hostile policies and push for economic pressure on the Iranian nation, I think there is no such issue” in the works, the Tasnim news agency quotes spokesman Bahram Qassemi as saying.

Qassemi also dismisses any connection between a recent trip by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Oman and the Omani foreign minister’s visit to Washington last week. Oman hosted Iranian and Obama administration officials during the negotiations leading up to the 2015 nuclear deal meant to limit Iran’s nuclear program.

The foreign ministry’s rebuke of “media speculation” comes just days after the influential parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, was quoted suggesting Iran could be open to talks with the US, if such a move has widespread backing from the country’s leaders.

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Trump says he’s willing to meet Iranian president

US President Donald Trump says he would be willing to meet with Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani with no preconditions.

Trump makes the comments at a joint press conference with the Italian prime minister.

“I’m ready to meet any time they want to. I don’t do that from strength or weakness. I think its an appropriate thing to do. If we can work something out that’s meaningful. Not the waste of paper that the other deal was, I would certainly be willing to meet,” he says.

He cites his meeting with North Korea’s leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin and repeats he is willing to meet “anytime they want, with no preconditions.”

Pope Francis: World Leaders Need To Mobilize Their Energy Into Removing Borders

Pope Francis: World Leaders Need To Mobilize Their Energy Into Removing Borders

Pope Francis has continued to preach his globalist "no borders" ethic calling on world leaders to mobilize their energy into "removing the walls of division and to build bridges".

“Without renouncing prudence,” he said, “we are called to recognize every sign and mobilize all our energy in order to remove the walls of division and to build bridges of fraternity everywhere in the world.” 

According to Cruxnow: “There is no need, on the other hand, for hurling slogans that often remain empty, or for antagonism between parties jockeying for the front position,” the pope said in a letter to the international conference of “Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church.”

The group is a network of Catholic theologians and ethicists. According to the National Catholic Reporter, some 500 members from 80 countries were in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, for a meeting July 26-29 on the theme, “A Critical Time for Bridge-Building: Catholic Theological Ethics Today.”

In his letter to participants, Francis said Sarajevo, a city of bridges and symbol of the devastation of the Balkan war in the 1990s, was an appropriate place to discuss how in situations of tension and division, there is a need to forge “new paths of closeness between peoples, cultures, religions, visions of life and political orientations.”

The pope said he keeps repeating “the need to build bridges, not walls” in the hopes that people will take action even if they are tempted “by fear and forms of regression.”

The role of Catholic theologians and ethicists, he said, is to reflect on current problems - including political and social ones such as climate change and migration - and, hopefully, inspire “suitable pastoral attitudes and responsible and carefully planned political policies.”

Francis praised the group of theologians and ethicists for forming a network that is global and includes people of differing visions.

Reflection, dialogue and joint analysis of problems, he said, should lead to a harnessing of the energy needed to inspire actions that are “compassionate and attentive to tragic human situations, and concerned with accompanying them with merciful care.”

Building the necessary bridges among the theologians, the pope said, “does not mean striving for uniformity of viewpoints, but rather seeking with sincerity and goodwill a convergence of purposes, in dialogical openness and the discussion of differing perspectives.”

“Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary openness,” which should characterize their work and the work of Catholic colleges and universities, is “so vital” and can result in analysis which is “all the more insightful and attentive to the complexity of human reality,” Francis said.

But also with dialogue, he said, “you yourselves will learn even better how to be faithful to the word of God, which challenges us in history, and to show solidarity with the world, which you are not called to judge but rather to offer new paths, accompany journeys, bind hurts and shore up weakness.”

Second Earthquake Swarm Hits Off Oregon Coast On Cascadia Subduction Zone

Second earthquake swarm in one week hits off Oregon on the Cascadia Subduction Zone

A swarm of earthquakes shook the Cascadia Subduction Zone off of the Oregon coast on Sunday morning shortly after 9:00 a.m., according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The swarm marks the second in just a 5-day span giving fair warning to coastal residents that the Big One could hit anytime.

After a string of almost a dozen minor quakes last week, the waters off the southern Oregon coast – approximately 280 miles west of Florence, Oregon – rumbled with yet another M5.3 quake on Sunday morning, at 9:10 a.m. and was followed by a series of 4 aftershocks:

M 5.3 – Off the coast of Oregon
M 3.2 – Off the coast of Oregon
M 3.0 – Off the coast of Oregon
M 3.8 – Off the coast of Oregon
M 4.4 – Off the coast of Oregon

Experts fear a mega-tsunami could be headed to the west coast in the near future as the fault is ‘overdue’ for the big one. Residents should remain vigilant.

A string of 10 quakes happened Tuesday morning, mostly about 125 miles west of Gold Beach. The largest was a 5.6 magnitude.