CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES CONTINUE TO GROW
The staggering scale of California’s wildfires reached another milestone Monday: A single fire surpassed 1 million acres.
The new mark for the August Complex fire in the Coast Range between San Francisco and the Oregon border came a day after the total area of land burned by California wildfires this year passed 4 million acres, more than double the previous record.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the amount of land scorched by the August Complex fire is larger than all of the recorded fires in California between 1932 and 1999.
“If that’s not proof point, testament, to climate change, then I don’t know what is,” Newsom said.
The August Complex fire began as dozens of fires ignited by lightning in the Mendocino National Forest in mid-August and became California’s largest fire on record in September. As of Monday, it covered nearly 1,566 square miles.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 8,200 California wildfires have scorched “well over 4 million acres” or 6,250 square miles, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Sunday in a statement. There have been 31 deaths and nearly 8,700 buildings have been destroyed, the governor said.
Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Scientists say climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable.
The August Complex fire has destroyed 242 structures and damaged a half dozen. One firefighter has died and one has been injured. Containment was estimated at 54 percent on Monday.
A fire burning in Northern California wine country has burned more than 102 square miles and destroyed more than 1,200 buildings since it started Sept. 27.
California remains largely warm and dry, but fierce winds that fanned infernos a week ago were gone.