Auburn-area fire stations and districts are dealing with skeletal staffs and bare-bones resources as local personnel battle blazes throughout the state.

According to the Cal Fire blog, more than 1,000 fires were burning throughout the state as of Thursday.

The blazes have charred more than 149,000 acres, destroying more than 40 structures and forcing the evacuation of more than 900 people.

“A total of 7,000 firefighters, 536 engines and more than 50 aircraft had been deployed to pummel the flames, most of which were triggered last week when dry lightning from thunderstorms struck drought stricken tinder-dry forest land,” the Cal Fire blog states.

Personnel from Auburn City Fire, Cal Fire and the Placer Hills Fire District continued to fight the blazes in counties across California Thursday. No major incidents were threatening as of Thursday afternoon in the Auburn area, pulling resources from the city and county.

“We only have one engine here,” said Cal Fire Engineer Clint Brown of the Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit. “If a small fire were to break out, we would pound it, but if we were to get something large, it would tax our resources, definitely.”

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Brand has taken command in Mendocino, where the Mendocino Lightning Complex has reported 106 fires that have burned approximately 21,294 acres. Thirty-four of the fires are contained.

Battalion Chief Bill Mendonca said Nevada-Yuba-Placer crews are also stationed in Butte and Napa counties and various locations throughout the Tahoe National Forest.

One engine strike team (five engines and a strike team leader) remained in Butte Thursday, one strike team in Napa, one in Mendocino and overhead personnel were stationed throughout the Tahoe Forest.

“And this is only the latest information I have,” Mendonca said. “(These teams) could be driving to another fire right now, who knows.”

Auburn City Fire has also has an engine in Lake County on the Walker Fire, which has burned more than 14,500 acres and remained 10 percent contained Thursday.

Placer County-wide, two strike teams and two engines also teamed up with a crew out of Sacra-mento County to help battle the blaze.

“We are trying our best to get a handle on all the different types of locations on all these fires,” said Mark D’Ambrogi, Auburn City Fire chief. “It is just one of those situations they experienced in Southern California (last season). We are just trying our best.”

A Placer Hills Fire engine also remained in Shasta County.

“Everyone is working on a shoestring right now trying to keep track of fires and staff engines,” said Capt. Tim Robinson of the Placer Hills Fire District.

A simulated fire siege set for Saturday in Auburn has also been canceled as a result of the fires.

The fire drill and training exercise, known as Wildland 2008, is being postponed indefinitely be-cause many of the personnel that planned to participate are helping battle hundreds of blazes through-out the north state, Robinson said.

“With everything going on, and crews fighting wildfires all over the state, we decided to cancel the exercise,” Robinson said. “We are going to have it rescheduled but are holding off at this point (on choosing a date).”

Firefighters were set to conduct fireline construction drills, hoselay drills, simulated wildfire struc-ture protection drills and firefighter safety exercises. The training was to be staged at the Auburn Airport.

Brown said the conditions of the past several weeks also lend to a grim outlook to what’s ahead this fire season.

“The shocking thing is that this is all happening months before it should,” Brown said. “We are burning in late August, early September conditions. I have been in this business for 20 years and I have never seen anything like this.”

The Journal’s Jenna Nielsen can be reached at jennan@goldcountrymedia.com or comment on this story at auburnjournal.com.

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More information: California Wildfires by the numbers as of Thursday

Fires: 1,032

Acres: 149,000

Contained Fires: 232

Personnel Committed: 11,989

Fire Engines: 941

Hand Crews: 271

Dozers: 291

Water Tenders: 360

Helicopters: 42

Air Tankers: 6