Wildfires and high temperatures continue to ravage the strongest season of the year, forcing thousands of people to evacuate in different countries. In California, USA, the fire continues to spread, forcing entire cities to be evacuated. In just a few days, the flames have consumed around 150,000 hectares. The Park Fire broke out last Wednesday and has become one of the largest in California’s history.
Authorities have ordered the evacuation of 26,000 people and expect the number to continue rising. According to their predictions, the flames continued to expand, affecting the counties of Butte, Plumas, Shasta, and Tehama. At least 5,000 firefighters have been deployed along with a dozen helicopters. The continuous increase in flames, strong winds, and terrain have made it extremely difficult to extinguish.
In Canada, they are also struggling with the mega-fire that has ravaged Jasper since last week. The entire city has been evacuated, mobilizing 25,000 residents and tourists. Recent rains and low temperatures have contributed to lowering the fire level, but firefighters continue working. The flames have burned over 36,000 hectares so far. This area located in the Rocky Mountains is a major tourist attraction, attracting around 2.5 million visitors each year. The fire caused by lightning has unleashed flames of 100 meters high. It will be several weeks before the fire can be extinguished, according to authorities.
Greece continues to struggle with various forest fires and high temperatures. Since the beginning of the season, Greek authorities have reported at least 47 fires, many of which were caused by the heat wave, forcing thousands of people to evacuate in some areas.
This Monday in Spain, the fire in Iznalloz, Granada was controlled, having burned around 17 hectares of encinar and pasture. Similarly, several active fires are still ongoing in the region. The wildfire season is just beginning, and with high temperatures, it’s possible that they will continue to rise. However, according to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO), of the 3,408 fires that have occurred, 2,329 were conatos, meaning they did not affect a hectare of surface area. This summer, most of the fires have occurred in the northwest of the country.
