Three massive wildfires chewed through the parched Californian landscape

Gourishankar R.

9th September, 2020

California, over the last week, has been hit by 650 wildfires across the state (Source: PTI)

Firefighters, who have been battling 3 huge wildfires in Northern California, faced another setback from the weather as the humidity rose and there was no comeback from the onslaught of lightning that lit the fire some few weeks early, according to India Today.

Nearly 250,000 individuals were following evacuation orders and warnings due to the many alternative fires that were happening across the state. The fatality from the disasters has reached up to seven. Meanwhile, the authorities are battling an enormous fire within the Santa Cruz Mountains, towards the south of San Francisco. It is proclaimed that the body of a 70-year-old man in an exceedingly remote space known as ‘Last Chance’ has been discovered.

Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy, Chris Clark said that the discovery of the man’s body served as a reminder of how vital it is to evacuate the residents from the danger zones immediately. The area has been under an evacuation order.

Over the last month, California has been hit by 650 wildfires across the state, almost all of it was sparked by over 12,000 lightning strikes since 15 August. 14,000 firefighters, 2,400 engines and 95 aircrafts, have so far been battling the fire.

The Santa Cruz fire was one among three ‘complexes’, or groups of fires, burning on all sides of the San Francisco Bay space.

An 11-day old blaze was held steady at slightly below 50 sq. miles (106 sq. kilometres) close to Lake Hughes in northern L. A. County mountains in southern California. The firefighters faced several challenges including rough terrain, weather conditions and also the potential thunderstorms with lightning strikes.

According to Times of India, authorities claimed their firefighting efforts in Santa Cruz were hindered by people that refused to evacuate and those who were misusing the chaos to loot. Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said a hundred officers were patrolling and anyone not authorised to be in an evacuation zone would be in remission.

Holly Hansen, who fled the wine country fire, was among the evacuees from the community of Angwin, according to Times of India. She was allowed to come home for one hour to retrieve her belongings. She and her 3 dogs waited 5 hours in her SUV for their turn. Among the things she took along with her were photos of her pets.

“It's frightful, I lived in Sonoma throughout the (2017) Tubbs fireplace, therefore this is time No. 2 for me. It's frightful after you have to think about what to take,” she said. “I assume it is a terribly raw human base feeling to have fear of fire and losing everything. It's horrifying”.

(Sources: Times of India, India Today, KSL)

Edited by Swikruti Kar