More than 14,800 firefighters are battling 24 forest fires. The largest is Fire Creek, which burns on 315 square kilometers. It has burned over 25 buildings. On Saturday, 207 tourists had to be evacuated and imprisoned in a popular camp near the Mammoth Pool Dam. Firefighters hope to prevent the fire from moving further west toward Yosemite National Park.
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The remote town of Alpine was also evacuated due to the Valley of Fire near San Diego. The famous Mount Wilson Observatory was also evacuated due to the Bobact fire near Los Angeles. Firefighters saved the small town of Shaver Lake from the flames, which was threatened by a fire from the surrounding slopes.
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Other major fires broke out in Southern California, forcing some residents of San Bernardino and San Diego counties to evacuate. According to local firefighters, the cause of the fire in San Bernardino district was the ignition of a “smoke-generating pyrotechnic device” at a celebration held to announce the sex of the expected child. The fire broke out on Saturday morning in El Dorado Ranch Park, from where it spread further north.
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Fire Creek in California
Photo: Noah Berger, CTK / AP
California has seen more than 900 fires since Aug. 15, most of them caused by lightning. The fires have claimed eight lives and destroyed nearly 3,300 buildings.
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The record fell at the beginning of the fire season
The most surprising of the sad burnt record is, as soon as it was noted, said Lynne Tolmachoff, a spokeswoman for the California Forestry and Fire Fighting Authority. She added that the most dangerous period in terms of fire has not yet occurred. “It’s a little worrying, because September and October are historically our worst months in terms of fires,” she said, adding that the period was usually accompanied by heat, drought and strong winds.
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Los Angeles recorded its highest measured daily temperature on Sunday. The thermometer’s mercury climbed over 49.4 degrees Celsius in the Woodland Hills suburb west of downtown. Meteorological forecasts predict heatwaves accompanied by a hot wind in California for the coming days, which may make fires even worse. In the interior of the state, temperatures should reach up to 45 degrees on Tuesday, and about 35 degrees on the coast.
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Due to the current heat, the amount of electricity consumed by people to power air conditioners has increased significantly. The local transmission system is starting to be overloaded, and the distribution system is also threatened by fire in some places. According to the company, which manages the network in the state, millions of people are at risk of power outages if energy demand is not reduced.
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