2024-07-04 17:48:20
Thousands of people were ordered to evacuation in northern california due to a voracious fire which is advancing out of control amid a dangerous heat wave in the western United States that has the region under alert.
The Thompson Fire has consumed more than 1,200 hectares since it started on Tuesday, according to official data. Authorities issued a warning evacuation orders for some 13,000 people in Butte County.
The fire is burning mainly north of the Butte community of Oroville, home to about 20,000 residents.
The town is about 110 kilometers north of Sacramento, the capital of California.now only 38 from Paradise, a community devastated in 2018 by the devastating Camp Fire, the deadliest in the state’s history, with some 85 deaths.
“The county (Butte) is under red alert “since last night and will continue to be that way until tomorrow night,” said the local fire chief, Garrett Sjolund, on Wednesday.
An additional concern for authorities is the celebration of July 4, the United States Independence Day, during which fireworks are traditionally used.
“This is a bad fire season”said Butte Sheriff Kory Honea.
“The last thing we need is someone who bought fireworks going out and doing something stupid. Don’t be idiots!” said Honea, who noted that the northern region faced four fires in two weeks.
He California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency.
Some 400 firefighters are fighting the blaze on the ground using heavy machinery and from the air using planes and helicopters.
Sjolund said that equipment and personnel are arriving from other regions to reinforce operations.
The San Francisco weather service has issued alerts for several northern towns in the state due to the scorching heat wave.
“An exceptionally dangerous situation is unfolding as we enter a potentially deadly, historic and prolonged heat wave,” the department warned Tuesday.
“The conditions in our county this summer are very different than we have experienced the last two summers. The fuels are very dense. The brush is dry, and as you can see, Any wind will move a fire very quickly“Sjolund said.
Fires started early this year in California, consuming more than 17,000 hectares.
Experts see this as a preview of what’s to come in America’s most populous state after two wetter years.
With summer just beginning, several regions in the west of the country They have already renewed the heat records with infernal temperatures well above 40º C.
2024-07-04 17:48:20