‘It looks like Mars out there’
Hundreds airlifted to safety as wildfires and excessive heat spark concern in California
Rescuers in military helicopters airlifted 207 people to safety after an explosive wildfire trapped them in a popular camping area in California’s Sierra National Forest, one of dozens of fires burning Sunday amid recordbreaking temperatures that strained the state’s electrical grid and could lead to planned power outages.
The California Office of Emergency Services said Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters were used for the rescues that began late Saturday and continued overnight from Mammoth Pool Reservoir. At least two people were severely injured and 10 more suffered moderate injuries. Two campers refused rescue and stayed behind, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office said.
A photo tweeted by the California National Guard showed at least 20 evacuees crammed inside one helicopter, crouched on the floor clutching their belongings. In another photo taken on the ground from a helicopter cockpit, the densely wooded hills surrounding the aircraft were in flames.
The fire churned southward through dense forest and by Sunday afternoon was threatening a marina and cabins along Shaver Lake. Jack Machado helped friends remove propane tanks from the lodge Cottages at the Point. Sheriff’s deputies went through the tiny town to make sure residents complied with evacuation orders.
“The lake is totally engulfed with smoke. You can hardly see in front of you,” Machado said. “The sky’s turning red. It looks like Mars out there.”
The wildfire, named the Creek Fire, started Friday and by Saturday afternoon exploded in size, jumped the San Joaquin River and cut off the only road into the Mammoth Pool Campground, national forest spokesperson Dan Tune said. At least 2,000 structures were threatened in the area about 467 kilometres north of Los Angeles.
The fire had charred more than 184 square kilometres of timber with no containment. Temperatures in the area topped 38 C.
Temperatures in downtown Los Angeles reached 44 C and just to the northwest, a record-shattering high of 49.4 C was hit in the Woodland Hills area of the San Fernando Valley. It was the highest temperature ever recorded in Los Angeles County, according to the National Weather Service.
The exceptionally high temperatures were driving the highest power use of the year and transmission losses due to wildfires have cut into supplies. Eric Schmitt of the California Independent System Operator that manages the state’s power grid said up to three million customers were expected to lose power for up to four hours Sunday.
He said where those outages occur are up to local utilities. The Creek Fire forced the closure of a 915-megawatt hydropower station in Madera County and a wildfire in Southern California nicked out transmission lines carrying hundreds of additional kilowatts. Cal
ISO was projecting a 4,000-megawatt shortfall and urged people to conserve electricity by not using appliances and keeping air conditioners at 25.5 C or above.
“I think it’s fair to say that without significant conservation and help from customers today, we’ll have to have some rolling outages,” Cal ISO vicepresident Eric Schmitt said.
Pacific Gas & Electric, the state’s largest utility, warned customers that it might cut power starting Tuesday because of expected high winds and heat that could create even greater fire danger. Some of the state’s largest and deadliest fires in recent years have been sparked by downed power lines and other utility equipment.
In Southern California, crews scrambled to douse several fires that popped up. The largest was a blaze in the foothills of Yucaipa east of Los Angeles that prompted evacuation orders for eastern portions of the city of 54,000 along with several mountain communities. Cal Fire said the fire scorched at least 11 square kilometres of brush and trees. The blaze was just five per cent contained Sunday.