High winds could fan already enormous California wildfires
- by Lorene Schwartz
- in People
- — Aug 24, 2020
Most of the destruction has been caused by three large fires complexes in mountainous and wooded rural areas.
Someone broke into a firefighter's work vehicle and emptied his bank account as he fought fires associated with the CZU Lightning Complex, a fire official said Sunday.
An unwelcome change in the weather, with higher winds, temperatures and lightning that threatens to spark new wildfires was coming Sunday to parched Northern California, where firefighters have for almost a week battled three huge complexes of fires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced tens of thousands to flee.
"With so many fires burning at one time, CAL FIRE has continued to request additional support from local fire departments across the State, as well as hundreds of fire engines from other states", said Berlant in a press release sent to KSBY. The agency said these fires were approximately 10% contained.
With more than 650,000 coronavirus cases, California also has the highest number of infections in the U.S., and some evacuees have said they are afraid to go to emergency shelters. Newsom emphasized that emergency evacuation centers are taking the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus among people fleeing their homes.
By comparison, the state had 5,000 firefighters assigned to the Mendocino Complex Fire in 2018, the largest fire in state history.
Since thousands of lightning strikes began on August 15, the state reported 585 wildfires that have burned almost a million acres, or 1,562 square miles (4,046 square kilometers), according to Cal Fire.
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Brunton said he was "sickened" to learn that a fire commander was robbed while helping co-ordinate efforts on Saturday.
President Donald Trump issued a Disaster Declaration on Saturday for California after wildfires burned almost one million acres of land in just one week.
In the East Bay and into Santa Clara County, the SCU Lightning Complex fires reached 10-percent containment as of Sunday after burning over 340,000 acres. The Big Basin Redwoods State Park said that some of its historic buildings had been destroyed by flames.
Further south in Santa Cruz county, 115 homes have been destroyed and some residents evacuated. Gavin Newsom said the aid will help with crisis counseling, housing and other social services in counties where people were affected by the fire. Though officials often try to build defensible lines to contain blazes, fire experts said the focus is now is on saving lives and structures.
"We simply haven't seen anything like this in many, many years", Newsom said. They were hoisted to safety as flames advanced.
In southern California, an 11-day-old blaze held steady at just under 106 square kilometres near Lake Hughes in northern Los Angeles County mountains. Authorities on Saturday morning arrested five people on suspicion of looting, grand theft, burglary and conspiracy after they were stopped driving away from the Fall Creek Drive area, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said.
