Monsoonal storms hit Yosemite, spark fires

Wild weather across the West upends Burning Man. Officials say pattern isn't over.

- BY GRACE TOOHEY

A FIREFIGHTER battles the Pickett fire in Napa County. Several fires were blamed on late monsoons.

In Yosemite National Park, hikers were surprisingly soaked this weekend as summer storms blew through the area. Meanwhile, thunderstorms across California's mountains launched rapid-fire lightning strikes that sparked several forest fires. And as Burning Man kicked off in Nevada's desert northwest, a major dust storm forced traffic to a halt as attendees tried to avoid the desert's wrath.

The impetus for this widespread, wild weather was a late-arriving monsoonal pattern, fueled by the region's lingering heat that pulled atmospheric moisture north — and with it, instability.

"When you add in moisture and a lot of heat, that's when you get the potential for these thunderstorms," said Edan Lindaman, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Reno.

Forecasters had warned that a "monsoonal surge" kicking off Saturday would bring a strong chance for thunderstorms that could create gusty winds, dangerous dry lightning and even some brief downpours. And that's exactly what played out, particularly across California's interior mountains and into the eastern deserts.