Record breaking heat followed by lightning and thunder

Lightning struck over our area early Monday morning. Photo by Peter Armstrong

After Saturday's blast furnace topped off at 104 degrees at the Willits courthouse an upper low moved into the area bringing cool but unstable weather.

"The upper low moved into the area following several hot days," says National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Garcia. "This caused the atmosphere to turn over."

The unstable conditions resulted in nearly 8,000 lightning strikes between June 10 and 11 throughout Northern California, according to CalFire information website for this incident. These strikes generated at least 50 fires. As of press time most had been extinguished.

Mendocino County CalFire units have already extinguished four small fires in the Anderson Valley area, according to CalFire's Howard Forest incident desk. As of press time, firefighters were attempting to access a fifth fire north east of Potter Valley.

Most of the lightning in Mendocino County hit in the southern and eastern sections of the county.

A hidden danger of lightning is a "sleeper fire." The lightning strike causes a small smolder to "sleep" for days until it reaches an area of heavy fuel or temperatures rise and winds develop. When the conditions are ripe, the fire can erupt into a major blaze. These are typically found in remote areas with limited access with the potential to become a serious incident affecting thousands of acres.

CalFire aircraft are flying over the region on the lookout for any sign of these fires.

Fire agencies are asking for the public to notify them if they spot any smoke plumes.