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"Extremely dangerous" fire conditions in California leave two dead and thousands of hectares burned

2022-09-05T15:11:35.239Z


Two people have died and tens of thousands of acres have been burned in California wildfires.  Residents asked to limit electricity use in California 0:44 (CNN) -- Prolonged drought has exacerbated fire conditions across California, where six active wildfires have consumed tens of thousands of acres in less than a week and killed at least two residents, officials say. . In all, the fires burning across the state have collectively burned more than 23,000 acres since Aug. 31, according to d


Residents asked to limit electricity use in California 0:44

(CNN) --

Prolonged drought has exacerbated fire conditions across California, where six active wildfires have consumed tens of thousands of acres in less than a week and killed at least two residents, officials say. .

In all, the fires burning across the state have collectively burned more than 23,000 acres since Aug. 31, according to data from California's fire authority Cal Fire.

While fire crews have made substantial progress extinguishing large fires in Southern California, the Mill Fire and Mountain Fire, to the north, are still 40% to 10% contained, according to Cal Fire. .

Two people were killed in the Mill Fire, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue announced at a community meeting Sunday.

The two women, ages 66 and 73, were found Friday by first responders in the town of Weed, the sheriff's office said.

The Mill and Mountain fires are burning through Siskiyou County, which straddles part of California's northern border, and have forced thousands of residents to evacuate, officials said.

As of Sunday night, the Mountain Fire had burned 3,600 acres and the Mill Fire had burned 1,721 acres, according to Cal Fire.

The causes of the fires are under investigation.

  • California has a long history of drought and fire, but what's happening now is a different chapter.

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Tasks continue to contain the fires in California

Fire crews battle the blaze as much of California experiences a sweltering heat wave, with some areas experiencing scorching temperatures 10 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit above normal for this time of year .

The Mill Fire has destroyed 50 structures and threatened more than 400, according to Cal Fire.

In an update late Sunday, the agency said it does not expect the fire to spread further.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the county on Friday, the day the Mill Fire began. In his proclamation, the governor said more than 5,800 residents were forced to evacuate due to the fire.

The Mountain Fire, which is burning on steep terrain, was expected to remain active through Sunday night into Monday morning, Cal Fire said.

According to the agency, vegetation and other fire fuels in the area are "at or approaching critical levels of dryness."

California, like much of the West, is in the midst of a prolonged severe drought, which has left large swaths of the state's vegetation brittle, dry and ripe for burning.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie told CNN that drought conditions have created "extremely dangerous" fire conditions, as the water-starved environment now contains "a lot of dead fuel."

"All of these fires now have receptive fuel beds to burn," he said.

"Now when something starts, it has that potential for exponential growth in a short period of time just because everything is so dry."

Those dry conditions also fueled recent wildfires in Southern California, where the Route Fire has burned 5,000 acres in northern Los Angeles County, according to Cal Fire.

The wildfire, now 96% contained, spread to that size in less than 48 hours.

Observing the severe growth of the Route fire, Angeles National Forest Chief Robert Garcia warned that its behavior "should be a wake-up call to all of us about the potential that we find ourselves in and are entering in the next few years." days" in terms of fire conditions, very rapid fire growth and very, very explosive fire behavior.

Farther south, on the California-Mexico border, the Border 32 fire has consumed 4,000 acres since it started Wednesday, Cal Fire said.

Now 90% contained, the fire has destroyed 10 structures, the agency said.

Heggie warned the public to be extremely alert to dangerous fire conditions, especially as people celebrate the US Labor Day holiday.

"Any outdoor activities that could lead to a fire, we ask people to maybe think of an alternative just because the danger increases as we get closer to this holiday, tomorrow and into the beginning of next week," Heggie said on Sunday.

-- CNN's Rebekah Riess, Jay Croft, Amanda Musa, Sara Sidner, Nouran Salahieh and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.

California

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-09-05

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