79 wildfires in Northern California in last 24 hours, most likely sparked by lightning
By Amy Graff, SFGATE
Updated 2:02 pm, Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Photo: Blitzortung.org
A lightning map from Blitzortung shows lightning strikes around the west from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon.
Firefighting efforts in the far reaches of Northern California are in lightning mode.
As hundreds of lightning bolts strike the region, CAL FIRE is staffing its lookout towers and sending planes into the air to scour the region for plumes of smoke signaling fires.
"We're out there scanning the area and any smokes that develop we have our resources that can address it," says Cal Fire spokesperson Scott McLean.
From Monday morning through Tuesday morning, 79 fires were counted in Lassen, Modoc and Siskyou counties by CAL FIRE and the U.S. Forest Service, and lightning was likely the cause of most of them, says McLean.