Major disaster declared as US state battles wildfires
SAN FRANCISCO: Some of California’s largest-ever fires are raging across northern regions of the US state, forcing tens of thousands from their homes as forecasters warned of further blazes sparked by lightning.
An unwelcome change in weather with higher winds, temperatures and lightning are threatening to spark new blazes. For nearly a week, firefighters have been battling three huge “complexes” of fires.
President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration to provide federal assistance. Governor Gavin Newsom said the declaration will help people in counties affected by the fires with crisis counselling, housing and other social services.
Two clusters of wildfires in the San Francisco Bay Area grew to become the second- and thirdlargest wildfires in recent state history by size. Light winds and cooler and more humid nighttime weather helped fire crews make progress on those fires and a third group of fires south of San Francisco ahead of the forecast of warm, dry weather, erratic wind gusts and lightning.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning of high fire danger across the Bay Area and along the Central Coast, beginning from Sunday morning to Monday afternoon.
“The worst is not behind us. We are in a battle rhythm,” California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) Chief Thom Porter tweeted.
Since August 15, state fire officials said more than 12,000 lightning strikes across the state have ignited 585 wildfires that have burned nearly a million acres, or 1,562 square miles (4,046 square kilometres), according to Cal Fire.
Firefighters made slow but hopeful progress in battling the blazes on Saturday, aided by good weather but hampered by smoky skies that grounded water-dropping aircraft for some of the day. Reinforcements arrived to bolster overwhelmed crews, and evacuation orders were lifted in some areas.but the changing weather brought fears of new fires overnight and warnings from state and local officials for residents in threatened areas to prepare to flee at any moment.