More than 1,600 hectares of vegetation have been ravaged by a violent fire that has been raging since Friday evening in California. Called " Apple Fire ", the fire mobilized more than 400 firefighters this Sunday, which was not enough to contain it. It tripled in size in a matter of hours.
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More than 8,000 residents of Riverside County have had to evacuate their homes due to the fire, which was first identified on Friday in Cherry Valley, 120 kilometers east of Los Angeles.
The fire is currently " 0% " contained, Riverside County firefighters have warned on their Twitter page. They shared several images of the material and environmental damage of this fire: impressive plumes of smoke, " visible for miles " according to the Los Angles Times , rise from this mountainous and wooded region.
A high school has been transformed into a reception center for people forced to evacuate their homes. The fire would have destroyed at least one family home, and two outbuildings according to local authorities. According to Fernando Herrera, spokesman for the fire department, “ the gardens of many residents were on fire. It spread from house to house, and represented a real threat ”. Quoted by the Los Angeles Times , he adds: “ We could have lost a lot of houses. "
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The origin of the fire is unknown to this day, but the scorching temperatures currently experienced in California have contributed to its exponential spread, as has the dense vegetation in the region.