Thousands of people evacuated due to large-scale wildfires near Los Angeles and Reno in the United States
Kyiv • UNN
Wildfires are spreading in California and Nevada, forcing thousands of people to evacuate. Firefighters are battling the fires in high temperatures and difficult terrain.
A wildfire continues to spread east of Los Angeles in the United States amid days of high temperatures, AP reports, UNN writes.
Details
Residents of mountainous communities in Southern California are considering whether to stay and protect their homes or leave. California Fire Department spokesman Rick Cargart said the fire has forced at least 6,000 people to evacuate.
"We're dealing with triple-digit (Fahrenheit - ed.) temperatures and hard-to-reach areas on steep slopes where there hasn't been a fire in decades or in history, so all this vegetation has led to significant fuel reserves," said Kargart.
Mara Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which is issuing evacuation orders, said nearly 5,000 homes are under active orders and another 17,000 are under evacuation warnings.
The fire is threatening thousands of residential and commercial structures as it rages along the border of the San Bernardino National Forest, about 105 kilometers east of Los Angeles. As of Monday evening, the fire had burned about 96 square kilometers of grass and shrubbery and enveloped the area in a thick cloud of dark smoke. It was 5% contained.
Meanwhile, firefighters on Monday used bulldozers, helicopters and airplanes to bring under control another fire that broke out near a remote-controlled airport in Orange County, southeast of Los Angeles, and is spreading rapidly. The fire has spread to about 7.8 square kilometers in just a few hours.
In Northern California, a fire covering about 2.6 square kilometers started on Sunday and burned at least 30 homes and commercial buildings and destroyed 40 to 50 cars in Clearlake City, 117 kilometers north of San Francisco, officials said. About 4,000 people were forced to evacuate due to the Boyles Fire, which was about 40% contained on Monday afternoon.
These fires are among the most dangerous of many fires in different parts of California.
About 32.2 kilometers from Reno, Nevada, the uncontrolled Davis Fire has grown to an area of about 26 square kilometers since it broke out Sunday afternoon. It originated in Davis Creek Regional Park in the Washoe Valley and raged through dense stands of trees and brush, firefighters said.
An announcement issued for Washoe County by Governor Joe Lombardo on Sunday stated that about 20,000 people had been evacuated from residential areas, businesses, parks and campgrounds. Fire officials reported that evacuation notices were still in effect in parts of south Reno on Monday, and some homes, businesses and traffic lights in the area were without power.
The Southern California fire on Saturday had temperatures so high that it created its own thunderstorm-like weather systems of pyroclouds, which can create more challenging conditions such as gusty winds and lightning strikes, according to the US National Weather Service.
The Reno fire is about 770 kilometers northeast of the San Bernardino National Forest fire, where firefighters were working on steep slopes in temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius, limiting their ability to fight the fire, officials said. State fire officials said three firefighters were injured.
Evacuations were announced Saturday night for Running Springs, Arrowhead Lake, areas east of Highway 330, and other regions.
The affected area is located near small mountain towns in the San Bernardino National Forest, where Southern Californians go skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. Running Springs is on the way to the popular Big Bear ski resort.
One local school district canceled classes on Monday for approximately 20,000 students, and Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County.
On Sunday, another fire broke out in the Angeles National Forest in southern California amid scorching heat. The fire, which burned north of the city of Glendora in Los Angeles County, covered an area of about 5 square kilometers and was contained on Monday evening.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has ordered campers and residents of the nearby river area to evacuate, the U.S. Forest Service said.
Wildfires were burning across the western United States, including in Idaho, where firefighters braced for a day of warm, dry and windy conditions and even more challenging conditions on Tuesday. The Boulder and Lava fires are raging in the western state of Idaho .
In central Oregon, firefighters dealt with a number of fires that led to evacuations, including one west of Mount Bachelor in the Deschutes National Forest that covered approximately 32.4 hectares.
