Thousands battling wildfires
Firefighters monitor a backfire Tuesday while battling the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex Fire, near Ladoga, Calif. About 14,000 firefighters — including professional firefighters, volunteers, inmates, soldiers and even some from Australia and New Zealand — are working to contain California’s 18 wildfires burning throughout the state.
UKIAH, Calif. — Firefighters said for the first time Wednesday they have made good progress battling the state’s largest-ever wildfire but didn’t expect to have it fully under control until September.
The blaze north of San Francisco has grown to the size of Los Angeles since it started two weeks ago, fueled by dry vegetation, high winds and rugged terrain that made it too dangerous for firefighters to directly attack the flames now spanning 470 square miles.
Crews, including inmates and firefighters from overseas, have managed to cut lines around half the fire to contain the flames, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. The blaze about 100 miles north of San Francisco around the resort region of Clear Lake has destroyed 116 homes and injured two firefighters.
Those lines have kept the southern edge of the fire from spreading into residential areas on the east side of the lake. But Cal Fire said the flames are out of control to the north, roaring into remote and unpopulated areas of thick forests and deep ravines.
California is seeing earlier, longer and more destructive wildfire seasons because of drought, warmer weather attributed to climate change and home construction deeper into the forests.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jonathan Cox said the area has few natural barriers to slow flames and terrain that firefighters can’t get to. So firefighters fall back to the nearest road, ridge or river, where they bulldoze a wide line and wait for the flames to come to them.
The Mendocino Complex, which will take months to put out, is one of 18 burning throughout the state Wednesday. Because of such extreme conditions early on, officials and experts warn California could be facing its toughest wildfire season yet, with the historically worst months still to come.
Here’s a look at the firefighters who are battling California’s blazes:
14,000 FIREFIGHTERS
They are deployed statewide and led by Cal Fire. The state’s firefighting agency employs 5,300 full-time firefighters and hires an additional 1,700 each fire season. Trained prisoners and firefighters from 17 states and around the world fill out the ranks.
Firefighters from Australia and New Zealand are helping, arriving this week at the Mendocino Complex Fire after an 8,600-mile flight and two-hour bus trip.
1,916 INMATES
California prisoners also are fighting fires. Cal Fire trains minimum-security inmates and pays them $1 an hour in the field and $2 a day when they’re not on duty. Inmate firefighters also typically have their sentences reduced for every day spent fighting fires.