FIRE WEATHER STORIES
Field notes from the fireline · Northern California
By Josh Bradley
49'ER FIRE
A foothills fire above the Yuba River country — its point of origin, its run, and the terrain that shaped it.
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WHERE FIRE MEETS BASALT
Vapor pressure deficit and the Campbell Fire — a young firefighter's first night on the line, and the thirsty air that drives a grass fire.
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HEAT, LIGHTNING & FIRE
The 2020 Lightning Siege and the 2024 Park Fire — temperature, dry lightning, and the making of a megafire.
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THE PLUMAS — THERMAL BELTS
Canyon Light — why a fire stays awake mid-slope after midnight, watched from above as a firefighter's headlamp comes down the ridge. Rendered in WebGL on the real terrain.
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DRY LIGHTNING
A nocturnal thunderstorm, a 0300 quick call, and a grass fire at Mooney Flat — braided with Madame Dumont, gambler of Broad Street, 1854.
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THE BURN WINDOW
The 17:00 reading — daily max temps, minimum humidity, and peak VPD at three RAWS stations, seven fire seasons side by side.
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FIRE & DROUGHT
The long, patient drought and the fires written into it — tracked against the U.S. Drought Monitor, updated weekly.
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