Vacaville, Calif
Amid a scorching heat wave that is now in its second week, hundreds of wildfires are burning in California, forcing over 100,000 people to evacuate.
Blazes threatened homes and blackened city skies Friday as firefighters pleaded for more help in their efforts to contain the fires, according to officials. At least six people have died.
The state is battling about two dozen large complex fires, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday. In total, 560 fires are raging in the state.
Major fires in Southern California are coming under control, and the state is shifting resources to battle massive blazes in Northern California, Newsom said. There, fires have chewed through brushland, rural areas, canyon country and dense forest surrounding San Francisco.
Newsom confirmed 5 deaths have associated with the fires. Separately, a Pacific Gas & Electric utility worker was found dead Wednesday in a vehicle in the Vacaville area.
In the past week alone, fires have charred over 1,200 square miles across the state, according to Cal Fire — a size comparable to Rhode Island. “We’re putting everything we have on this,” Newsom said, noting the state is seeking aid from the federal government, other states as far away as the East Coast and even Canada and Australia. California firefighters are “overwhelmed” by the ongoing fires, he said.
Two of the fires there are now the 7th and 10th largest fires in state history, having burned as much as 300 square miles each, Newsom said Friday. “If you are in denial about climate change, come to California,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said, as he addressed the wildfires in a last-minute video recorded for the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night.
More than 12,000 firefighters are on the front lines, but fire officials in charge of each of the major fire complexes say they are strapped for resources. Some firefighters were working 72-hour shifts instead of the usual 24 hours.
The fires burning throughout Northern California have now claimed at least six lives and injured 33 people and firefighters.—AP
