California wildfires: the biggest fires currently burning in the state - Los Angeles Times

Cattle feed near the Walker fire in Plumas County

Size: 54,518 acres
Percent of perimeter contained: 95%
Location: 11 miles east of Taylorsville in Plumas National Forest
Start date: Sept. 4
Cause: Under investigation

A cold front that swept across Northern California on Monday substantially decreased fire activity. About an inch of rain fell, and firefighters watched as the area received an estimated 150 lightning strikes.Thanks to positive impact from the cooler weather, several firefighters have been released from the incident and will return home.

Over the course of almost two weeks, the Walker fire consumed more than 85 square miles. It is the largest fire to burn in California so far this year — so massive that it can be seen from space.

The fire is burning in the Plumas National Forest, which spans 1.1 million acres through the northern Sierra Nevada. About 75 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail extends across the forest, but through-hikers need not fear, as the southern perimeter of the Walker fire is an estimated 28 miles from the trail, said Becky Shufelt, a public information officer.

Mountainous and remote, the terrain is challenging. Nearly 2,100 firefighters and support personnel worked through the weekend to improve containment lines and put out spot fires. They were able to stop the spread of a separate wildfire that broke out about three miles north on Sunday. That blaze, the Stony fire, was held to 1 acre.

Wind drove much of the Walker fire’s growth. On Sept. 6, the fire burned 18,000 acres. Fed by hot, dry conditions, the fire found the path of least resistance, burning northeast through creek beds and canyons, Diondray Wiley, a fire behavior analyst on the Walker fire, said in a Facebook video update.

“All that energy created a perfect avenue for the fire to make that particular type of progression,” Wiley said.

At this time, fire officials believe no structures have been damaged or destroyed.