Tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate in California, in the grip of some of the worst fires in its history, and entire areas of which were blanketed in thick clouds of smoke on Friday.
This Saturday,he governor of the US state of California, Gavin Newsom, has called on Canada and Australia for help in fighting the wildfires.
One of the largest blazes, the LNU Lightning Complex, alone had nearly 90,000 hectares in smoke on Friday morning.
In particular, it threatened the vines of Napa and Sonoma counties, which had already been exposed to such fires in recent years.
The risks of infection with the new coronavirus pushed some of the tens of thousands of evacuees to find refuge in car parks or by beaches, rather than in the accommodation centers offered by the authorities.
In a speech at the Democratic convention Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom stressed the direct cause and effect link between climate change and these fires.
“Climate change is a reality“, he assured.”If you don’t believe it, come to California.“
His state also recorded on Sunday what could be the third hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth: 54.4 ° C in the Valley of Death.
In total, more than 312,000 hectares have been decimated in California since the start of this episode.
Smoke from fires prompted air pollution alerts, especially in San Francisco Bay. US weather services expected the sky to stay “foggy and smoky“, at least “short term“.
These fires, which usually occurred between August and November, have become more frequent and larger in California in recent years, due in part to climate change.
The deadliest fire in California history, dubbed Camp Fire, took place in November 2018 in the upstate. He had made 86 deaths.
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