California wildfires: thousands evacuate as 'siege' of flames overwhelms state / VIDEO: Dozens of fires burning in California | California wildfires

California wildfires: thousands evacuate as 'siege' of flames overwhelms state

 

Lightning-sparked fires, stoked by a searing heatwave, prompt governor to declare a state of emergency

 

. This winter, not a single drop of rain fell on San Francisco and Sacramento in February – and a hot spring dried out fire-fueling vegetation through much of the state.

“We’re in an era in California and in the west where wildfires risk increasing year on year, increasing dramatically because of climate change,” Field said. “This is going to be our new reality.”

 

 

Maanvi Singh in Oakland

Wed 19 Aug 2020 21.44 BSTFirst published on Wed 19 Aug 2020 20.32 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/19/california-fires-lake-dome-evacuations

 

Hundreds of fires are raging across California, forcing tens of thousands of residents – who were already facing blackouts and the coronavirus pandemic – to flee their homes. The flames, sparked by lightning and stoked by a searing heatwave and ferocious winds, have been moving quickly, overwhelming the state’s firefighters and first responders.

 

“It’s kind of an overwhelming fire siege,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

 

The state is currently battling 367 known fires, Gavin Newsom reported at a press conference on Wednesday. “We are challenged right now,” the governor said. The state was struck by lightning 10,849 times over the course 72 hours, he reported. The unusual lightning storm and a historic heatwave have led to an especially fierce fire season this year, officials said.

 

Asked how officials will manage the overlapping crises of heat, fire and the pandemic all at once, Newsom responded: “The future happens here first.”

 

A cluster of wildfires in Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties now covers an estimated 46,225 acres, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency. The flames have destroyed at least 50 buildings and structures and remain largely uncontained, and come just three years after devastating fires killed 22 and destroyed many wineries in the region.

 

At dawn on Wednesday, firefighters and police officers went door-to-door in Vacaville, in Solano county, rushing to evacuate residents. At least 50 structures were destroyed and four people were injured, according to officials. Television reporters and local residents shared images of roads, fully flanked by flames, blackened land and columns of smoke swirling through neighborhoods. Ash sprinkled swaths of the state, dusting cities in gray.

 

The ash and soot, which have permeated through the state are especially concerning amid the coronavirus pandemic – as evidence builds that air pollution makes people more susceptible to Covid-19.

 

Fires were burning in every Bay Area county but urban San Francisco. “So basically, everywhere there’s land to burn, there’s land burning in the Bay Area,” Swain said.

 

In southern California, the Lake fire north-east of Los Angeles has been raging for more than a week, spreading across more than 21,000 acres. The Dome fire has eaten through more than 43,000 acres including the Mojave national preserve near the California-Nevada border – scorching ancient Joshua trees.

 

“Throughout the state of California right now, we are stretched thin for crews,” Will Powers, a state fire spokesman told the AP. “Air resources have been stretched thin throughout the whole state.” California is asking the whole country for help, seeking hundreds of fire engines and more than 1,000 crewmembers and first responders.

 

On Tuesday, Newsom, the California governor, declared a state of emergency, looking to mobilize help from within and outside California. “We are deploying every resource available to keep communities safe as California battles fires across the state during these extreme conditions,” Newsom said. “California and its federal and local partners are working in lock step to meet the challenge and remain vigilant in the face of continued dangerous weather conditions.”

 

The heatwave that began this weekend and the rare lightning storms that spawned even rarer fire tornadoes, “really set the stage for something that can be truly catastrophic”, he said.

 

“The problem that we face now is that there’s no obvious way to control these fires,” Chris Field, the director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, said – because they are burning through areas replete with dry wood and brush. “It’s just really hard to stop them once they’ve picked up.”

 

The National Interagency Fire Center had warned of a higher potential for fires across much of America’s west and south-west, with 2020 on track to be one of the hottest and driest years on record. This winter, not a single drop of rain fell on San Francisco and Sacramento in February – and a hot spring dried out fire-fueling vegetation through much of the state.

 

“We’re in an era in California and in the west where wildfires risk increasing year on year, increasing dramatically because of climate change,” Field said. “This is going to be our new reality.”