Calif. sets record with 2M acres burned this year as fires swell
SHAVER LAKE, Calif. — Wildfires have burned more than 2 million acres in California this year, setting a state record even as crews battled dozens of growing blazes in sweltering heat Monday that strained the electrical grid and threatened power outages for millions.
The most striking thing about the record is how early it was set, with the most dangerous part of the year ahead, said Lynne Tolmachoff, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
“It’s a little unnerving, because September and October are historically our worst months for fires,” Ms. Tolamachoff said.
The previous high was 1.96 million acres burned in 2018. Cal Fire began tracking the numbers in 1987.
Firefighters struggled to corral several dangerous blazes ahead of dry, hot winds predicted to raise fire danger to critical levels in the coming days. Evacuation orders were expanded to more mountain communities as the largest blaze churned through the Sierra National Forest.
Debra Rios wasn’t home when the order came to evacuate her hometown of Auberry, just northeast of Fresno. Sheriff’s deputies went to her ranch property to pick up her 92- year- old mother, Shirley MacLean.
“I hope like heck the fire doesn’t reach my little ranch,” Ms. Rios said. “It’s not looking good right now. It’s an awfully big fire.”
Mountain roads were filled with cars and trucks leaving the town of about 2,300 people.
Firefighters working in steep terrain saved the tiny town of Shaver Lake from flames that roared down hillsides toward a marina. About 30 houses were destroyed in the hamlet of Big Creek.
“About half the private homes in town burned down,” resident Toby Wait said. “Words cannot even begin to describe the devastation of this community.”
The blaze dubbed the Creek Fire has charred more than 114 square miles of timber after breaking out Friday. The 850 firefighters on the scene had yet to get any containment.
On Saturday, rescuers in military helicopters airlifted 207 people to safety after flames trapped them in a wooded camping area northeast of Fresno.
In Southern California, crews scrambled to douse several fires that roared to life in searing temperatures, including one that closed mountain roads in Angeles National Forest. Cal Fire said a blaze in San Bernardino County called the El Dorado Fire started Saturday morning and was caused by a smoke- generating pyrotechnic device used by a couple to reveal their baby’s gender.
Daytime temperatures in fire zones neared or exceeded triple digits yet again. Downtown Los Angeles reached 111 degrees Sunday, and a record- shattering high of 121 degrees was recorded in the nearby Woodland Hills neighborhood. It was the highest temperature ever recorded in Los Angeles County, the National Weather Service said.