An intense forest fire that has spread rapidly this Thursday in southern California and has already devoured 8,000 hectares, threatens to 3,500 houses. Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed to try to put out the fire; according to the latest report, several people who were injured have been taken to hospital.
The flames, which broke out Wednesday morning in Fortunenorth of Los Angeles, have already devastated several neighborhoods and destroyed buildings, but authorities have not yet been able to account for the initial damage.
More than 14,000 residents received evacuation orders or warnings mainly in the towns of Camarillo, Somis and Moorpark, Ventura Sheriff Jim Fryhoff reported this Wednesday. “We know it’s a painful time,” Fryhoff said. «The fire is extremely dangerous and I want to remind everyone that we have new evacuation zones marked out at night,” he added.
“This fire is very active and unpredictable, we have many resources in action, and we want to have guarantees that everyone is safe while moving in search of shelter,” he commented. “I haven’t been able to sleep, I was trying to find a safe place,” Erica Preciado, a resident of the area, told local media, who left her house with her husband in the early morning for fear of the possible passage of the flames. “I grabbed some photos, documents and some things and left very early,” he added through tears.
Another resident told KTLA television that he and his family left their home of 27 years, only to learn it had been destroyed by flames. “There was nothing left,” he said with a broken voice. Firefighters dropped water from helicopters throughout the night, and several teams are trying to contain the fire on the ground, however strong winds and low humidity complicate the situation.
To make matters worse, the water began to fail in the early morning, said Ventura Fire Chief Dustin Gardner. «We have battled the fire for 26 hoursand we put all these trucks on the hydrants, and we dried up the water reserves,” Gardner told reporters. Gardner clarified that although it is not common, it is not unusual. “We are prepared for this, so it impacts us but we will mitigate it,” he added.
Some 70,000 people in the region were left without electricity service due to preventive cutsaccording to the supply company Southland. The measure, common during fires to avoid new flare-ups with falling poles, could be expanded, leaving hundreds of people without electricity in the coming hours.
The causes of the fire are under investigation, but climate specialists explained that the flames began just when the region was under an exacerbated red alert. “Which means very powerful winds, very low humidity and a lot of fuel,” said Rich Thompson, a meteorologist with the US National Weather Service.
The region experienced two years of heavy rain, which promoted the growth of grass that now, under drought, heat and wind, becomes the ideal fuel for the rapid spread of fire. Weather conditions improved a little this Thursday, but the area remains under red alert. «We expect gusts of wind blowing from the northeast of between 40 and 56 kilometers per hour into the afternoon, with humidity levels between 10 and 15%,” Thompson said.
The California government secured additional resources and positioned teams in 19 counties of the state anticipating warnings of weather conditions conducive to dangerous fires in many areas of the coast and inland of California.
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