California wildfire traps campers in national forest

Three rapidly spreading California wildfires drove people to flight, with one trapping campers in a reservoir in the Sierra National Forest when a brutal heat wave pushed temperatures into triple digits in many parts of the state.

The wildfire burning near Shaver Lake exploded at 145 square kilometers, jumped a river and compromised the only road to Mammoth Pool Campground, said national forestry spokesman Dan Tune. At least 2,000 structures were threatened in the area about 467 km north of Los Angeles, where temperatures in the city’s San Fernando Valley reached 47 ° C.

The Fresno Fire Department tweeted late Saturday night that 63 people were rescued from the camp by military helicopters with two of them seriously injured, 10 moderately injured and 51 others having minor or no injuries.

The Madera County Sheriff’s Department said in a tweet early Saturday that about 150 people were at the camp’s boat launch site, and 10 of them were injured. “Everyone is safe at the moment,” the department tweeted.

Officers were also evacuating Beasore Meadows, a large ranch in the Sierra National Forest, the department tweeted.

The Sacramento Bee reported that agencies were coordinating an air rescue for crews to evacuate them safely.

Tune said the campers were told to shelter in place until fire crews, aided by planes that launched water, could access the site. Tune said he didn’t know how close the camp fire was.

“All of our resources are working to make that escape route enjoyable and safe for them,” he said.

The lake, 35 miles northeast of Fresno, is surrounded by thick pine forests and is a popular destination for boating and fishing. Completely dry conditions and hot weather fanned the flames.

“Once the fire is lit, it creates its own weather, adding wind to increase the spread,” Tune said.

The fire broke out on Friday night. Crews worked through the night, but on Saturday morning authorities issued evacuation orders for lakeside communities and urged people seeking relief from the Labor Day weekend heat to stay away from the popular lake. .

“Adjust your Labor Day weekend plans. Access to Shaver Lake is completely closed to the public due to #CreekFire,” the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office tweeted after announcing evacuation orders for campgrounds and communities alongside the lake.

The California Highway Patrol closed State Route 168 to allow access only to first responders and evacuees.

In Southern California, a fire in the Yucaipa foothills east of Los Angeles prompted evacuation orders for the eastern parts of the city of 54,000 along with several communities, including Oak Glen, Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said the fire burned at least 3.9 square kilometers and was burning at a “moderate to dangerous” rate of spread.

A part of the San Gorgonio Desert was closed and hikers were urged to leave.

In eastern San Diego County, firefighters warned that a fire near Alpine was burning at a “dangerous rate” after spreading to 400 acres in an hour. A small community south of Alpine in the Cleveland National Forest was ordered to evacuate.

Cal Fire said nearly 12,500 firefighters were fighting 22 major fires in the state. Despite the heat, firefighters were able to contain two large fires off the Monterey County coast.

California has seen 900 wildfires since August 15, many of them started by an intense series of thousands of lightning strikes. The flames have burned more than 1.5 million acres. There have been eight fire deaths and nearly 3,300 structures destroyed.

The heat wave was expected to extend triple-digit temperatures across much of California through Monday. Officials urged people to conserve electricity to ease strain on the state’s power grid.

Pacific Gas & Electric, the state’s largest utility company, warned customers Saturday that it could cut power starting Tuesday due to high winds and heat that are expected to create an even greater fire hazard. Some of the state’s largest and deadliest fires in recent years have been caused by downed power lines and other utility equipment.

– AP