More than 6,000 firefighters in California’s Central Valley continued to battle the largest wildfire in the United States on Saturday, according to Reuters.
It made history as the fourth-largest fire in the state’s history. Forecasters said there was almost no rain on Saturday from thunderstorms that brought wind and rainfall of zero to one-tenth of an inch.
Heat of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) and winds of 25 miles per hour or more in some places brought no relief to firefighters trying to curb the Park Fire, which was scorching wilderness about 100 miles (161 kilometres) north of Sacramento, the state capital. Christopher Young, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, stated:
We had some thunderstorms that just brought us down-drafts, that’s a problem. Lightning is a factor we worry about.
The Park Fire started because of an alleged arsonist who drove a burning vehicle into a 60-foot gully near Chico, California, on 24 July. Since then, it has burned more than 400,000 acres (162,200 hectares) or more than 600 square miles. That’s an area larger than the city of Los Angeles.
Park Fire
More than 560 homes and other buildings have been destroyed since the fire began consuming fallen trees and dry grass and brush 11 days ago. Officials reported the fire was 27 per cent contained as of Saturday.
Over 4,000 people have been evacuated due to the Park Fire. Officials say it can take two to three hours to get to the fire line in wildland conditions. Some firefighters are being transported to the front lines by helicopter. A number of them are expected to stay there for several days, with supplies also being flown in by aeroplane.
The nation’s wildfire season started very rough, increasing the risk of overstretching firefighting resources. The National Interagency Fire Centre has already requested assistance from firefighters from Australia and New Zealand, who would arrive from 7 August and be deployed to Oregon and Washington.
