California burns in record-breaking heat
ROUND 14,000 firefighters are battling 18 fires that have carved their way through forest land and are threatening urban areas in California.
“For whatever reason, fires are burning much more intensely, much more quickly than they were before,” said Mark A Hartwig, president of the California Fire Chiefs Association.
Some of the largest fires have erupted within the past few weeks as the state has seen record breaking temperatures – and the historically worst months of wildfire season are still to come.
In northern California, the record breaking Mendocino Complex – twin fires being fought as a single conflagration – gained ground but more slowly because its own smoke covered the area and lowered the temperature.
The flames, which had burned 457 square miles, were raging in mostly remote areas and no deaths or serious injuries were reported but 75 homes were destroyed.
The blaze, which broke out on July 27, initially spread quickly because of what officials said was a combination of weather, rugged topography and abundant brush and timber turned to tinder by years of drought.
California is seeing earlier, longer and more destructive wildfire seasons because of drought, warmer weather attributed to climate change, and the building of homes deeper into the forests. California’s firefighting costs have more than tripled from $242 million in 2013 to $773 million in 2018.