Crews work to stop the fast-moving Rocky Fire in northern California.
Advertisement
Evacuation orders have been given to 13,000 people in California as firefighters struggle to contain some 20 wildfires.
CalFire had initially expected to have the fire – which burned 6,591 acres in its first few days – contained on July 28. Ironically, it was pouring rain in Marlborough as they loaded their gear on the bus, but they know their weather will change soon.
Some firefighters said they were tasked with working around the fires.
Wildfires are a fact of life in much of California, but were far worse than usual this year because of bone-dry conditions, with the state gripped by a fourth year of record drought.
At 60,000 acres, the Rocky Fire is the largest ongoing blaze. Some 12,000 residents were forced to evacuate.
Brown declared a state of emergency Friday, mobilizing the National Guard to support the disaster response.
The flames raced through 20,000 acres in one five-hour stretch on Saturday night, a growth rate that officials from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (Cal Fire), described as “unprecedented”.
California fire crews are continuing to battle the Rocky Fire after it jumped a highway in Lake County, eliminating a natural break that would have helped tame the 62,000-acre fire that has spread over a swath of land in three counties.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department has backfilled all fire stations with additional personnel to make up for firefighting crews dispatched to Northern California to battle more than 21 blazes active on Monday.
Numerous men and women, firefighters in their own towns, have been called to travel and help in the past.
On Monday 9,000 firefighters worked on steep ground and hard conditions, officials said.
The Wolverine Fire, which started Wednesday, is burning in timber about 3 miles northwest of Lucerne, Washington.
“Firefighter Ruhl will be remembered for his service and bravery and we extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues with the U.S. Forest Service”, Brown said in a separate statement.
In fact, northern California is so dry, it has turned into kindling for a couple dozen wildfires that have burned more than a hundred thousand acres.
People at the Moose Lodge, where evacuees came earlier Tuesday to get pillows, apples and piles of French toast, are being advised to evacuate as the fire moves closer.
Cooler weather had helped crews build a buffer Monday between the wildfire and some of the thousands of homes it threatened as it tore through drought-withered brush in Lake County that hadn’t burned in years.
Advertisement
More than 2,600 acres have burned and Cal Fire reports that area at 15 percent contained. A woman was arrested Thursday on suspicion of causing a 200-acre fire near Groveland, just outside Yosemite National Park.
