More than 100,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in California, entire areas of which were covered in thick clouds of smoke on Friday. The state is in the throes of one of the worst fires in its history.
Fires started by thousands of lightning bolts, and fueled by record-breaking heat and low humidity, have already claimed the lives of at least five people, authorities said. One of the biggest blazes, the LNU Lightning Complex, alone had nearly 90,000 hectares in smoke on Friday morning.
In particular, it threatened the vines of Napa and Sonoma counties, which had already been exposed to such fires in recent years.
And the risks of infection with the new coronavirus pushed some of the 119,000 evacuees to find refuge in parking lots or on the edge of beaches, rather than in the accommodation centers offered by the authorities.
In the coastal town of Santa Cruz, authorities have urged tourists to leave their hotels vacant, in order to provide beds for people fleeing the fires.
‘Reality’ of climate change
Daniel Berlant, representative of the California Fire Prevention Agency praised the firefighters’ efforts over the past 24 hours: ‘They are making progress, but the weather is not helping us.’
California on Sunday recorded what could be the third hottest temperature on Earth: 54.4 ° C in Death Valley.
If the mercury should drop slightly over the weekend, the risk of new thunderstorms and therefore lightning, leaves the agency on ‘alert’.
In a speech at the Democratic convention Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom stressed the direct cause and effect link between climate change and these fires. ‘Climate change is a reality,’ he said. ‘If you don’t believe it, come to California.’
During a press briefing on Friday, the governor said firefighters from Texas, New Mexico and Oregon had been sent in as reinforcements and that other states should also come to their aid. In total, more than 312,000 hectares have been decimated in California since the start of this episode, mainly in uninhabited areas.
The deadliest fire in California history, dubbed Camp Fire, took place in November 2018 in the upstate. He had made 86 deaths.
/ ATS
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