"Weapons aimed at firefighters": in California, the difficult evacuation of residents in the face of the gigantic Dixie Fire

Additional evacuation orders were issued Thursday in the face of the spread of the Dixie Fire, a massive fire in California that twists streetlights in the heat and destroys several historic buildings.

The day before, he ravaged a town in the north of the state.

Greenville, with a population of around 800, was engulfed in flames from the Dixie Fire in less than 24 hours.

A gas station, hotel and bar were destroyed, along with some buildings over a century old, in this town built during the California Gold Rush in the mid-19th century.

“Much of downtown Greenville has been completely destroyed,” photographer Stuart Palley tweeted, with photos.

“My heart is broken for this beautiful little town”.

I'd say the majority of downtown Greenville is completely destroyed.

All I see standing on the main st.

Is a dollar general.

My heart is broken for this beautiful little town.

#dixiefire pic.twitter.com/G8kVMZdanF

- Stuart Palley (@stuartpalley) August 5, 2021

This blaze has devastated northern California for three weeks, fueled by continuous winds and the effects of climate change, including sweltering heat and alarming drought in the region.

He has now covered more than 110,000 hectares.

Read alsoExceptional heat wave: in Greece and Turkey, fires of historic proportions

“We did all we could,” area firefighter spokesperson Mitch Matlow told reporters.

“Sometimes that's not enough”.

Firefighters delayed by residents

In a video posted Wednesday evening, Jake Cagle, section chief with the crisis management team, said firefighters were being delayed by people not following evacuation orders, forcing them to sacrifice time and resources to help them.

"We have firefighters who find themselves facing guns pointed at them, because of people who do not want to evacuate," said Cagle. About 2,000 California residents were called on Wednesday to evacuate their homes "immediately" when the flames approached. Authorities also asked residents of the towns of Taylorsville and Westwood, south and north of Greenville, on Thursday to leave their homes to protect themselves.

"If you stayed, you should evacuate east, immediately!"

The Plumas County Sheriff's Office wrote on social media, speaking to residents of the communities of Greenville and Chester.

"If you are still in the Greenville area, you are in imminent danger and you must leave now!"

", He added in a second message, specifying:" If you stay, the emergency services may not be able to come to your aid.

"

Number of hectares burned up by 250% compared to 2020

The number of acres burned in California was up 250% at the end of July from 2020, which was already the worst year for fires in the state's recent history.

The Dixie Fire is painfully reminiscent of the Paradise Fire of 2018, California's deadliest fire in recent years.

Faulty power lines, which ran through the northern town of Paradise, had caused the blaze, killing 86 people.

The Dixie Fire is so vast that it is at the origin of its own climatic phenomena.

VIDEO.

Dixie Fire, the devastating California blaze, now generates its own climate

Energy supplier Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), California's largest energy company, has pleaded guilty.

PG&E equipment is again in question for the Dixie Fire, after a tree fell on a power cable the day the fire started.

The company announced at the end of July that it would bury its 16,000 km of electric cables to prevent its equipment from causing new devastating fires.