Crews battled 20 other wildfires in California – some sparked by lightning – though none as big as the Lower Lake blaze.
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Photographers on the scenes are documenting the destruction of buildings and roads, unsafe work by firefighters, and otherworldly landscapes transformed by smoke and embers.
The fire about 100 miles north of San Francisco in the Lower Lake area roughly tripled in size over the weekend to 93 square miles.
The Golden State is now host to the largest wildfire to affect the state so far this year, involving 54,000 acres of land across three counties.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced on Monday that a 20-person fire crew will be departing early Tuesday from DEEP Eastern District Headquarters to assist the U.S. Forest in California for two weeks.
On Sunday, August 2, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allocated a grant to California so that the most essential tools and resources needed for the continuous abolishment of the fires in Lake County may be guaranteed, says Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Fires in Southern California’s San Bernardino County and Northern California’s Alpine County have affected almost 50,000 acres.
Evacuated residents were amazed at how quickly the flames spread.
Firefighters prepare to start a backfire operation ahead of the Rocky Fire.
Neither the Willow nor the Cabin fires has destroyed any structures, but six people have been injured in the Willow Fire.
“Our firefighters have been working extensively throughout the last two weeks, working hard to contain these fires”. It was just one of 21 large wildfires burning statewide, fire officials said.
This update came under 12 hours after Cal Fire said that the fire was about 27,000 acres late Saturday. Thousands of lightning bolts since Thursday caused hundreds of smaller fires throughout the state, but most of the blazes were concentrated in the north, California fire chiefs said.
Some 9,000 fire fighters worked throughout Monday in steep terrain and rugged conditions to battle about 18 fires, officials said.
‘Our courageous firefighters are on the front lines and we’ll do everything we can to help them.’. The Highway 20 corridor will be closed to traffic from New Long Valley Road all the way to Highway 53.
An autopsy to determine the cause of death will be conducted this week, the U.S. Forest Service said.
Ruhl’s body was found on Friday, July 31.
At one point, more than 70 small fires were sparked by lightning in that area. He was an Engine Captain from South Dakota, and died in the Modoc National Forest while combatting a fire that started 100 miles south of Oregon.
Four other firefighters were burned in blaze near Sacramento.
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Other fires include the Frog Fire, which has burned about 4,200 acres since Thursday.
