California hit a grim new record: This year's wildfires have already burned
more than 4 million acres
, an area that is larger than the entire area of the state of Connecticut.
The staggering number is also more than double the record recorded in 2018, according to annual statistics from the California Department of Fire Protection, known as CalFire.
"The 4 million mark is incomprehensible. It's a mystery and it takes your breath away," said Scott McLean, a CalFire spokesman.
"And that number will grow," he warned.
Thomas Henney, left, and Charles Chavira watch a column spanning Healdsburg, California, as fires at the LNU complex burn.
AP / Noah Berger
In the current season,
8,200 wildfires
have
killed
more than
31 and destroyed more than 8,400 buildings,
CalFire said in a statement.
[This is how this dog comforts the firefighters who work on the California fires]
Since the department began keeping records in 1933, fires have stayed well below the 4 million mark.
The Glass Fire is observed from a vineyard in Calistoga, California;
on September 28, 2020.AP
"This year is far from over and
the potential for fires remains high.
Please be cautious outside," he added.
The fires have in turn involved air quality historically harmful to human health and smoke so dense that it covered the state's sky for days.
Several studies have linked forest fires to
climate change
by burning coal, oil and gas.
Scientists have said that this has made California a much drier state, which means trees and other plants are more flammable.
["I don't think science knows": Trump travels to California and ignores the role of climate change in the fires raging the West Coast]
Mike Flannigan, who heads the Canadian Association for Wildfire Science at the University of Alberta in Canada, says the escalation of fires in California and the West "is largely due to man-made climate change."
"Temperature is really important to fire. Temperature is key. The warmer it is, the longer the fire season," he said.
"This is an unprecedented year and the point is that
there is no vaccine for wildfires
," Flanigan said.
"We will have to learn to live with the fires and associated smoke."
A small plane fights the Glass fire in Calistoga, Calif., On Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. AP
Flannigan estimates that the area of land burned by fires has
increased fivefold since the 1970s
.
[Two new fires in California ravage nearly 10,000 acres in a single day. The flames force to evacuate a hospital]
More than 30,000 people remained under evacuation orders Sunday due to the Glass Fire in the north of the state.
Among those still unable to return home are the more than 5,000 Calistoga residents in Napa County.
More than 16,500 firefighters continue to work to contain 23 major wildfires across the state, CalFire reported.
Some of these came from Mexico.
Despite Sunday's bleak milestone, there are signs of hope.
Flames from the Glass Fire consume the Glass Mountain Inn, late Sunday, September 27, 2020, in Santa Elena, California.
AP / Noah Berger
The powerful winds that were expected to drive the flames in recent days have not materialized, and extreme fire hazard warnings expired Saturday morning as a layer of fog appeared.
With information from AP and NBC News.