Thousands of people remain under evacuation orders after a wind-driven wildfire raged through rural northern California.
A number of people were injured when the fire that broke out on Friday afternoon at or near a wood products factory quickly blew through a neighborhood on the northern edge of Weed but then swept people away. flames away from the small town.
Evacuees described thick smoke and bits of ash raining down.
This is the latest wildfire in one of the largest states in the United States.
Where is the fire?
Mill Fire is currently located in northern California, near the border with Oregon.
It was pushed by 35mph winds and quickly gobbled up 4 square miles of land.
The flames cut through the dry grass, brush and wood.
About 7,500 people in the town of Weed, Calif., and several nearby communities were under evacuation orders.
It’s the third major wildfire in as many days in California, which has been plagued by a prolonged drought and is now suffocating under a heat wave that is expected to push temperatures above 37C in many many areas until Labor Day.
Thousands of people were also ordered to flee a blaze in Castaic, north of Los Angeles, on Wednesday, and a blaze in eastern San Diego County near the Mexican border severely burned two people and destroyed several houses. Those fires are now 56% and 65% contained, respectively, and all evacuations have been lifted.
What did the State of California say?
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Siskyou County and said a federal grant had been received “to help ensure the availability of vital resources to put out the fire.”
Around the time the blaze started, power outages were reported, affecting some 9,000 customers, and several thousand were left without power late into the night, according to a utility outage website. PacifiCorp electricity, which said they were due to the forest fire.
Are there more wildfires in California?
The Cal Fire website has a tool to track wildfires currently underway in the state.
Mill Fire is the latest fire but not the only one in the state.
Route Fire – which is 56% contained – and Border 32 fire – 65% contained – are in Southern California.
Mountain Fire is another big fire.
How did residents react to the forest fire?
Evacuees described thick smoke and bits of ash raining down.
Annie Peterson said she was sitting on the porch of her home near Roseburg Forest Products, which makes wood veneer, when “all of a sudden we heard a big boom and all that smoke was coming our way.”
Very quickly his house and a dozen others caught fire. She said members of her church helped evacuate her and her son, who is immobile. She said the scene of smoke and flames felt like “the end of the world”.
Allison Hendrickson, spokeswoman for Dignity Health North State Hospitals, said two people were taken to Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta. One was in stable condition and the other was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center, which has a burn unit.
Rebecca Taylor of Roseburg Forest Products said it was unclear if the fire started near or on company property. A large, empty building had burned down, she said, but all employees were evacuated and none reported injuries.
Californians urged to save electricity
Saturday will be the fourth straight day of demands from the state electric grid operator for voluntary late afternoon and evening cutbacks to balance supply and demand as millions of residents experience high temperatures.
California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO) said several generators were taken out of service due to extreme heat, which reached 30C in some places, which tightened the power supply.
Electricity demand peaked at 47,357 megawatts on Thursday, the highest since September 2017. Cal ISO attributed the conservation and reduced commercial use to maintaining grid stability.
“The primary concern now is with even higher temperatures predicted for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with projected loads reaching over 49,000 megawatts on Tuesday,” Cal ISO said in a statement.
Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared an emergency to increase energy production and relaxed rules aimed at reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases. He highlighted the role that climate change is playing in the heat wave.
The National Weather Service said: “September is off to a flying start in the West with record high temperatures and fire-prone weather conditions expected to spread and take hold in this part of the country this holiday weekend. work.”
