China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Flames sustained
Hot, windy weather fuels record California wildfires
UKIAH, California — Thousands of firefighters, backed by US troops and crews from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, have made progress in their battle with California’s biggest wildfire on record — but the weather forecast for the rest of the week is not promising, officials said.
Nearly 20 major fires have ravaged the sprawling western state over the past two weeks, fanned by strong winds and sweltering temperatures.
The wildfires have left at least nine people dead, including four firefighters, and forced tens of thousands of residents to abandon their homes.
“It’s scary, it’s nerve-wracking,” said Jay Michael, who was resting in a van in a parking lot in Clearlake Oaks with Gretchen Fritsch after they fled their home.
“I got a feeling my home’s still there,” Michael added. “My gut’s telling me it’s still there but ...”
He said it was the eighth time they have evacuated while living in the area north of San Francisco, and the third time this year.
The National Weather Service said conditions were expected to remain very hot and windy until at least Saturday evening.
While no respite was expected from the weather, authorities said the 14,000 firefighters battling the blazes have made progress against the giant Mendocino Complex Fire in the state’s north — made up of the River Fire and the Ranch Fire.
The Mendocino Complex Fire has ravaged 120,000 hectares — an area approximately the size of Los Angeles — and is California’s largest wildfire since record-keeping began a century ago.
The River Fire is 81 percent contained, having burned 19,800 hectares, Cal Fire said.
The Ranch Fire has grown to 101,600 hectares and is 46 percent contained.
Overall, the Mendocino Complex Fire has destroyed at least 221 structures, 116 of them residences, Cal Fire said. More than 10,000 other structures are threatened.
Fire sweeps over barriers
The Ranch Fire, which poses the biggest challenge, has swept across natural barriers like rivers, as well as a ditch dug with earth-moving machinery.
“The River Fire is looking really good, looks like we’ve got some good containment line around that fire,” said California firefighters’ spokesman Kevin Sweeney.
“So the focus now is on the north and east line of the Ranch Fire — also, we’re looking at the southern border,” he said.
Helicopters and airplanes, including two massive DC-10s and a 747 jumbo jet, have supported firefighters by dousing the flames with water.
Besides firefighters from around the country and abroad, about 1,000 National Guard personnel are supporting wildfire operations in California, with another 450 in Oregon and 170 in Washington state.
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.
They do similar work to any firefighter, working long hours and sleeping in camps with other inmates. Most are on the front lines, using chain saws and hand tools to reduce tinder-dry brush and trees to stop the flames.