18 fires burn in California as fire season begins

by


The forest fire season began in California. Less than a year after the incredible destruction of camp fire in the state, 18 flames are currently burning, including Walker Fire, the largest in California this year.

According to Los angeles timesWalker's fire broke out on September 4 for unknown reasons and is raging in the Plumas National Forest in northern California, about 150 miles northeast of Sacramento. Driven by the wind, the fire rose to 15,000 acres on September 6, and adverse wind conditions helped the fire break out to 44,000 acres on September 9. It currently stands at 47,440 acres and burned over 68 square miles of land. time reports. According to the US Forest Service, more than 1,000 firefighters fought fire, which is currently contained at 12 percent.

Despite being large, Walker’s fire has been overshadowed by the camp fire and Wolsey’s fire since November 2018. The camp fire, California's deadliest and most devastating forest fire, killed 85 people and burned 153,336 acres of land in Butte County, northern California. It's only 65 miles from where Walker’s fire is raging now.

Sheriff's department visits Woolsey's fire in 2018
Wolsey Fire in 2018 Morphius film / shutterstock

In the same month, a Wolsey fire along the Malibu coast claimed three lives and survived 96,949 acres of land. Although no one died from fires in California this season, 37 structures, including some houses, were lost.

In addition to the Walker fire, 17 other fires also erupted in California. These include two small fires in Butte County, in the same area through which the fire broke out. The next largest fires are the Tabus and Springs fires in the Inyo National Forest, the Red Bank fire in the Tejama County and the Lone Fire in Modoc National Forest occupy more than 5000 acres. With the exception of Tabus, all of these fires were caused by lightning. Most of these fires are more than half held back after several days of burning.

Compared to 2018, this fire season began slowly (by this time more than 1.2 million acres had burned down last year). But officials and residents are on high alert in the future. With hot, dry autumn conditions around the corner, the worst can be yet to come.