As worn-out firefighters battle 17 wildfires across California, with fatalities now reaching eight, including another firefighter, the only good news is that they have managed to contain the spread of the Carr fire in Redding.
Another raging wildfire, the Ferguson fire, has left seven others injured. Yosemite National Park remains closed indefinitely.
A meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office, Craig Shoemaker, said temperatures right over the fire are expected to reach highs of up to 105 degrees Monday, a few degrees cooler than it would have been without thick smoke acting as a cloud cover.
As helpful as the smoke has been in lowering the temps, it has made air tanker drops almost impossible.
“There’s a lot of low-level smoke, which means missions are having to be aborted,” said Cox, the Cal Fire spokesman.
