Nearly 240,000 people have so far been evacuated to escape the fires ravaging California. In recent hours, the authorities have received reinforcements in terms of men and equipment, ahead of a possible new series of storms.
Around twenty major hotspots were still active on Sunday, including the LNU Lightning Complex and the SCU Lightning Complex, to the north and south-east of San Francisco respectively.
The LNU has already burned through more than 138,000 hectares, making it the second largest perimeter fire in California's history, behind the Mendocino Complex and its 185,000 hectares that went up in smoke in July 2018.
The SCU Complex is already the third most destructive fire, with more than 137,000 hectares destroyed, whereas it was only contained to 10% on Sunday morning.
In all, over 1,000 buildings have been destroyed in the California wildfires, which have resulted in at least five deaths, including 845 in the LNU Complex alone, which was contained at 17% on Sunday.
Reinforcements requested
Nearly 240,000 people have been evacuated in the "Golden State", as the state is known, Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the Californian fire protection agency CalFire, said on Sunday in a video posted on Twitter.
The Californian authorities have acknowledged that the number of fire-fighters was initially insufficient to combat so many large-scale fires effectively.
But over the last few hours, California firefighters have received reinforcements of men and equipment from several American states, including Oregon, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, announced a CalFire spokesman. Around 200 men from the National Guard were also mobilised, and some 14,000 firefighters were on the ground on Sunday.
International aid
On Sunday, firefighters could count on more than 200 flying aircraft, planes and helicopters, including military aircraft modified to fight the fires. Governor Gavin Newsom has asked for help from Canada and Australia.
Already under stress, California was preparing for a new weather sequence marked by possible thunderstorms until Tuesday, which could lead to fires breaking out.
A series of thunderstorms and a wave of more than 12,000 lightning strikes last weekend and at the beginning of the week have already triggered the fires currently burning in California.
Article from: lenouvelliste