California declared a state of emergency as the North California fires have killed one and injured four civilians as the fires continue to rapid the state on Wednesday.
Residents of Vacaville, California, and other nearby counties, are being forced to evacuate their homes. So far 175 structures have either been destroyed or damaged, and the number continues to increase.
The fires started in North California, by an extraordinary number of lightning strikes in recent days. The fire has grown to cover 124,000 acres and threaten over 25,000 structures, according to Cal Fire officials.
A “historic lighting siege” of about 11,000 lightning strikes, caused about 367 fires in the most recent days, said Chief Jeremy Rahn, a Cal Fire spokesman, at a news conference.
Max Whittaker for The New York Times.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said that 23 of the fires were considered major blazes. The S.C.U. Lightning Complex, a group of about 20 fires, more than doubled in size overnight, and is burning over 85,000 acres across five counties — largely in unpopulated regions near the Bay Area — and is just 5 percent contained, according to The New York Times.
The C.Z.U August Lighting Complex has grown over 25,000 acres and destroyed over 20 structures. The fire caused evacuations in Santa Cruz county because 0 percent of the fire is contained due to the inaccessible terrain.
Max Whittaker for The New York Times.
There already have been thousands of fires across California this year. Roughly 6,574 fires occurred in California so far this year. Which is many more than last years, which had around 4,000 fires.
Max Whittaker for The New York Times.
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