California wildfires: Helicopter crews airlift at least 78 more trapped by Creek Fire

09/08/2020 Philippines



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The rescues, which also brought six dogs to safety, came after more than 200 people were airlifted from the woods over the weekend in the Creek Fire, which authorities said burned 143,929 acres in the Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Fresno.

“We have made several attempts in recent days to reach those remote camps,” Army National Guard Colonel David Hall told NBC’s “Today” show. “The weather and smoke are cooperating better with us and we will continue to work tirelessly … until we remove as many people as we can.”

Dozens of people, including hikers and campers, were unable to get out of the woods on their own because the fire had blocked roads, Fresno County fire officials said.

It was not immediately clear how many more people were waiting for help.

“People in remote areas are not considered to be … in immediate danger. They are just in places that sometimes cannot be accessed other than by helicopter,” Fresno County Sheriff’s spokesman Tony told CNN. Botti.

A home is engulfed in flames in the Tollhouse area of ​​unincorporated Fresno County early Tuesday morning.

The Creek fire has forced evacuations in Madera and Fresno counties. The fire is an “unprecedented disaster” for Fresno County, US Forest Service Supervisor Dean Gould said Monday, adding that while there have been major wildfires in the area before, this fire is “the most aggressive of all”.

The wildfire has caused severe structural damage and current conditions prevented damage inspection teams from entering the areas to inspect exactly how many structures had been lost, a Cal Fire official said during the briefing.
The fire started Friday night and its cause is under investigation.

California wildfires have burned more than 2.2 million acres this year

At least 22 large fires are burning in California, where dry, windy conditions and record high temperatures have been fueling the flames for weeks in some areas.
Wildfires force city-wide evacuation in Central California
Another is the El Dorado fire in Southern California’s San Bernardino County, which authorities say was started Saturday morning by a pyrotechnic device used during a gender reveal party. That fire has burned 10,574 acres and was 16% contained as of Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Three clusters of fires caused largely by lightning last month in Northern California – the SCU, CZU and LNU lightning complex fires – are mostly contained after collectively burning more than 858,000 acres.

Weather conditions will mean high fire risks from Washington to Arizona, including much of California, through Wednesday. Starting Tuesday morning, Areas covering more than 38 million people in six western states were under red flag warnings, warning that conditions that can start or spread fires (high winds and dry conditions) were imminent or occurring.

Wind gusts of 30 to 55 mph are possible in parts of California on Wednesday, CNN meteorologists said.

“A wind like this will fuel (the fires) and move them forward. If you get evacuation notices today, you need to pay attention to them. These fires will move very, very quickly,” said CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.

More than 75 large wildfires are burning across the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, and California has been the worst hit state. So far this year, more than 4.6 million acres have been burned nationwide, according to the NIFC. More than 2.2 million of those acres have been burned in California, Cal Fire said.

That’s the highest number of acres burned in a California year in recorded history, Cal Fire said. The state has yet to get to what is usually the heart of its fire season, when notorious Santa Ana winds blow hot, dry air from inland mountain ranges, adding fuel to an already dangerous fire recipe.

The frequency of fall days with extreme weather conditions from fires in California has more than doubled since the 1980s, driven primarily by climate change, a recent study found.

A utility company has intentionally cut power to some customers due to fire hazard

As firefighters fight the flames and rescue people from dangerous areas, temporarily shutting down electricity service for tens of thousands of customers.

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) is intentionally shutting off power in 22 Northern California and Central Valley counties to decrease the chance that any wind-damaged electrical equipment will start more fires. About 172,000 PG&E customers were expected to be affected by Tuesday afternoon, with a full restoration expected Wednesday night.

Fire threat closes national forests

Another security measure due to the “monumental fire threat” is the closure of national forests in southern and central California. Across the state, all campgrounds will be closed for day use and overnight camping beginning Monday night, the U.S. Forest Service said.
A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party sparked one of California's wildfires, burning more than 8,600 acres

“Most of California remains under threat from unprecedented and dangerous fire conditions with a combination of extreme heat, significant wind events, dry conditions and borderline fire suppression resources,” the statement said.

The total closures affect the Stanislaus, Sierra, Inyo, Los Padres, Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests. The Sequoia National Forest will also be closed, but the National Park will remain open with no fires allowed and a poor air quality warning.

The closures mean no walking, biking, fishing, or even scenic drives allowed. The Forest Service hopes the closures will reduce the potential for human-caused fires. They will be reassessed daily as conditions change.

Hundreds of people have been rescued from the Creek fire.

“The wildfire situation across California is dangerous and needs to be taken seriously. Existing fires are showing extreme fire behavior, new fires are likely to start, weather conditions are getting worse, and we just don’t have enough resources to fight. and completely contain all fires. ” said Randy Moore, regional forester for the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region.

80% of buildings in an eastern Washington city were destroyed during a Labor Day firestorm.
For the country as a whole, the number of fires recorded and the area burned in 2020 are below the 10-year average for the same period, according to NIFC. A total of 40,883 fires have been reported so far this year, while the average number of fires as of Sept. 7 in the past 10 years is 43,456, says the NIFC.

The total area burned since early 2020 is 4,645,058, compared to the 10-year average of 5,680,220 acres at this time of year, the NIFC said.

CNN’s Sarah Moon, Pierre Mielhan, Cheri Mossburg, Drew Kann, and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

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