California fires MAPPED: Fire sizes, containment and evacuations – latest on growing fires
CALIFORNIA fires are raging with this map showing where more than a dozen blazes are turning the state black with ash.
By GEORGINA LAUD
Express.co.uk
Sat, Aug 11, 2018
High winds, dry hot weather and difficult terrain are making the fires difficult to contain, with the latest, the southern Holy Fire, being only about five percent contained.
Mandatory evacuations and states of emergency have been imposed.
Weather conditions and locations of the fires have made it difficult for those battling the flames – as the extended hot weather has dried out undergrowth, meaning the flames spread quickly and easily.
About 21,000 people have been evacuated from their residences due to the Holy Fire, with Cleveland National Forest (CNF) explaining the landscape is making the flames hard to tackle.
Posting on Twitter the CNF replied to a question as to why containment was so difficult: ”Because of the steep topography with limited access and no where for our fire fighters to go.
“It is in an area with little fire history and dry fuels. Couple that with high temps, and it becomes extreme.”
Holy Fire now stands at 10 percent containment, with a state of emergency declared in Orange and Riverside Counties by Governor of California Jerry Brown.
Holy Fire is believed to have begun as the result of arson, with one suspect remaining in Orange County jail on $1million bail.
In the north-west of California, the Mendocino Complex Fire has become the largest wildfire in California’s history.
Measuring 312,447 acres, there have been 229 structures destroyed by the blaze with 27 damaged.
Containment of the largest wildfire stands at 60 percent, but fire officials estimate full containment won’t be achieved until early September.
Ferguson Fire
The Ferguson Fire in Awahanee has triggered the closure of parts of Yosemite National Park after growing to 95,544 acres.
The Rest…HERE
