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Wildfires spark evacuations in northern California
SAN FRANCISCO, July 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Californian authorities have issued
red flag weather warnings and mandatory evacuation orders after a series of
wildfires fanned by high winds and hot temperatures ripped through thousands
of acres.
The latest blaze, the County Fire sparked in Yolo County on Saturday, had
by Sunday afternoon spread across 22,000 acres (9,000 hectares) with zero
percent containment, according to Cal Fire.
More than 100 fire trucks and a dozen helicopters are involved in putting
out the inferno. The fire crossed over into Napa County on Sunday afternoon.
Other active blazes include the Pawnee Fire in Lake County, which had
burned 14,150 acres but was 73 percent contained as of early Sunday. The
Waverly Fire in San Joaquin County had spread some 12,300 acres and was 75
percent contained.
Last year was California’s deadliest for fires.
The Thomas fire, in the Santa Barbara area in December, killed two
people, destroyed more than 1,000 buildings — including multimillion-dollar
homes — and torched some 259,000 acres. It was deemed the third most
destructive blaze since 1932.
October fires in the wine regions of Napa and Sonoma valleys, north of
San Francisco, killed some 40 people, razed some 245,000 acres of forest and
scrub, and destroyed more than 7,000 homes and buildings.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0909 hrs