Wildfires in California have killed at least five people and forced tens of thousands from their homes, as firefighting resources strain under the vastness of dozens of infernos raging across the state. Three major complexes encompassing dozens of fires chewed through a combined 770 square miles (1,994 sq km) of forests, canyons and rural areas north, east and south of San Francisco Bay. Thousands of acres were ablaze elsewhere across California. Skies remained darkened by smoke on Friday, with tens of thousands of homes threatened by flames that drove through dense and bone-dry trees and brush. Some fires doubled in size within 24 hours, fire officials said. Many of the fires were sparked by an unusually high volume of lightning strikes during thunderstorms earlier this week, which came amid a searing heatwave. The state was struck by lightning 10,849 times over the course of 72 hours, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said on Thursday. And while some evacuations were lifted in the small city of Vacaville, between San Francisco and Sacramento, other areas expanded their evacuation areas. The University of California, Santa Cruz, was evacuated and a new fire burning near Yosemite national park also prompted evacuations. The mayor of Santa Cruz, a coastal city of 65,000, urged residents on Thursday evening to be prepared to evacuate by gassing up their vehicles and packing important documents, medicines and other belongings.“Prepare early so that you are ready to go at a moment’s notice,” Cummings said. Temperatures remained high, though were predicted to ease slightly on Friday. Erratic winds also could drive the fires unpredictably in multiple directions, challenging firefighting efforts, state fire officials said.“There’s so much heat in these fires that they create their own wind … and they may blow in any direction, and very erratically,” said Daniel Berlant, an assistant deputy director with the state department of forestry and fire protection, known as Cal Fire. Firefighters said both personnel and equipment were stretched thin, and Newsom, who this week declared a state of emergency, called in backup from neighboring states.


All data is taken from the source: https://www.theguardian.com/
Article Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/21/california-wildfires-latest-bay-area-lightning

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