This Labor Day is less than a pleasant one for barbecues or anything outdoors, really, with the air heating up and more wildfire smoke descending on San Francisco and much of the Bay Area.
Much of the smoke doesn't appear to be being produced by the major wildfire complexes in the nine-county Bay Area, but it's rather originating from further north and the still burning August Complex Fires in Mendocino National Forest, which include the Hull Fire and the Doe Fire. The entire complex, which began at the same time as the other lightning-caused fires in Northern California, has now burned 349,565 acres, approaching the size of the LNU and SCU Complexes.
The radar image below from the National Weather Service shows the smoke forecast for the rest of Monday, with that northerly smoke blowing down over SF in the morning, mostly clearing for the afternoon, and again blowing in during the evening after 8 p.m.
A quick update from one of our short-term smoke models. Note that most of the smoke overhead is due to several wildfires in Northern California and the Central Valley, while smoke from the Dolan fire down in Big Sur is also picked up on this run. #CaliforniaWildfires pic.twitter.com/3KTa5wlLo5
— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) September 7, 2020
The SCU Lightning Complex in the South/East Bay stands at 396,624 acres as of Monday morning, and it is 93-percent contained.
Containment also increased on the LNU Complex in the North Bay over the weekend despite the high temperatures. It stands at 375,209 acres, and 91-percent containment. The Walbridge Fire portion in Sonoma County, which is just under 55,000 acres, is 95-percent contained as of this morning.
The CZU Lightning Complex which continues to smolder in Santa Cruz County is now 76-percent contained.
As NBC Bay Area reports, Point Reyes National Seashore remains closed as the Woodward Fire in Marin County hit 93-percent containment as of today. Since it began on August 18, it has burned 4,800 acres.
The raging Creek Fire in Fresno County near Yosemite National Park is zero-percent contained after being sparking on Friday night. And it stands at 78,790 acres.
Smoke from that fire was seen drifting as far as the National Weather Service's bureau office in Monterey this morning.
Smoke from the #CreekFire has drifted towards our office in @CityofMonterey this morning. pic.twitter.com/G3e1FzzXfq
— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) September 7, 2020