Firefighters fighting a major fire on the outskirts of Los Angeles were preparing Friday, September 9 to face a new danger, in the form of floods and mudslides that could trigger a tropical storm coming up from Mexico.
Downgraded from the hurricane category by the time it made landfall in Mexico on Thursday, Storm Kay then tracked north.
It is likely to generate strong winds likely to fan the fire called "
Fairview fire
", warned the authorities.
Nearly 9,700 hectares have already been consumed by the fire which broke out on Monday, in the midst of an extreme heat wave, and which continues to spread under the effect
of "extreme winds
" coming down from the nearby mountains, authorities said. .
“
I have never seen a fire like this in Riverside County in my entire career,
” said John Crater, California Wildfire Services Division Chief.
"
It
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Two dead
Two people have already perished, trapped by the flames as they tried to flee the fire.
The area to be evacuated has once again been enlarged, and now concerns more than 20,000 people.
The authorities went door to door asking the most reluctant residents to leave the premises in order to take shelter.
Although Hurricane Kay was downgraded to a tropical storm, it was expected to bring heavy rains to California and Arizona, as well as heavy swells to the Pacific Coast.
According to the US weather services, more than 18 centimeters of precipitation could fall, increasing the risk of flooding and mudslides in areas where scorched earth will not be able to absorb runoff.