Los Angeles: Firefighters are battling historic blazes across the California, with 1.4 million acres already torched by the fires.
More than 7,000 blazes have hit California this year, a 63% jump from 2019, according to Governor Gavin Newsom. The burned acreage is now 25 times larger than a year ago. Firefighters are currently battling 625 blazes. There are almost certainly more fires burning than the official statistics show due to limited aircraft monitoring capacity.
“There are a lot of sleeper fires we expect to discover as our reconnaissance efforts” continue, Newsom said in a media briefing.
The fires forcing thousands to flee their homes are far from under control. A conflagration known as the LNU Lightning Complex near Napa, the second biggest fire so far reported in modern California history, has burned over 350,000 acres and is 22% contained. The SCU Lightning Complex near San Jose has burned 347,000 acres and is only 10% contained, according to Cal Fire.
“The size and complexity of this fire is not one we’ve seen in times past,” Shawna Jones, unit chief for the Sonoma Lake Napa unit of Cal Fire, said. “It’s still going to take time to put this fire out.”
In a state known for its disasters, multiple crises are converging at once. After a summer of soaring coronavirus cases and scaled-back re-openings, Californians have been gripped by record-setting heat that strained the power grid and led to rolling blackouts for the first time since the 2000-2001 energy crisis. Then came wildfires, many of them caused by lightning strikes. Seven have died, and more than 1,200 structures have been destroyed.
About 39% of all acreage burned by wildfires in the U.S. this year have been in California. The state has secured a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support its response. – Bloomberg
Extreme weather conditions has led to fire growth, making the #LNULightningComplex now the 2nd largest fire in California and the #SCULightningComplex the 3rd. Dry lightning is expected today through Tuesday so stay #WildfireReady by having an evacuation plan in place. pic.twitter.com/ekNve67hxI
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) August 23, 2020
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