Favorable Weather Boosts Battle Against California Wildfires
Weather conditions are now helping in fighting California wildfires, state fire officials said Tuesday.
California wildfires have been raging on for days, with weather refusing to cooperate with firefighters.
According to CNN, the deadly fires have burned down more than 1.25 million acres in the Golden State since August 15 and had taken the lives of seven people. That's more than six times the size of New York City.
California wildfires have also destroyed more than 1,400 buildings, Cal Fire said.
Weather in the state right now has given lower temperatures and weaker winds. These factors may help in getting fires in control soon.
Smoke from the fires resulted in poor air quality. The National Weather Service issued alerts on air quality in some parts of California and at least seven other states in Western U.S. Tuesday.
Firefighters Catch a Break
Firefighters have been working 24-hour shifts just to fight the California wildfires. But they have been given a break from the increased humidity and low winds, said Cal Fire Chief Mark Brunton Tuesday.
They scrambled to take advantage of the cooler weather and an influx of aid. Containment lines are getting carved around the flames to help put an end to the deadly flames.
"Every percent of containment is hours and hours of sweat and blood up on those lines," said Jonathan Cox, deputy chief of Cal Fire, on Tuesday evening.
Progress has been made on three major blazes so far. Areas such as those near San Francisco Bay Area and the wine country north of San Francisco is getting better at containing the fires. One of the areas is now 27% surrounded, said an Associated Press report.
"The weather's really cooperating with us," said Brunton. "We are steadily getting a trickle of resources in, and putting them to work."
Despite these developments, Cal Fire is not sitting still. They believe good weather may not be here to stay as temperatures are forecasted to rise in the coming days into the weekend.
"We are going to return back to a warming and drying trend," said Cal Fire Assistant Deputy Director Daniel Berlant in a USA Today report.
He added that September and October are typically the peak months for fires, so a fire in the middle of August was a matter of concern for them.
Evacuations and Warnings Lifted
Some wildfire evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted in Northern California on Tuesday.
Sonoma County allowed residents to go back to their homes. Some evacuations in Napa County have also been reduced to warnings, Cal Fire said. Santa Clara also had all of its warnings lifted.
Red flag warnings are still in place for areas covering Northern California, Nevada, Oregon and Montana. Those warnings mean conditions that will likely start or spread fires, like lightning, can still happen.
Among the many California wildfires that have raged on lately, two are on the state's top three largest wildfires in recorded history. They are the 363,000-acre SCU Lightning Complex Fire, largely east of San Jose, and the 352,900-acre LNU Lightning Complex Fire in the northern Bay Area.
Check these out!
Lightning Strikes Add to Raging California Heat, Thousands Evacuate
Death Valley Temperature Reaches 130 Degrees, Hottest Day on Site in 107 Years
Rare 'Firenado' Spotted as Heat Wave Scorches California; Probably the First Time
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!
