California ravaged by gigantic fires

More than 14,000 firefighters from all over the United States and even Australia and New Zealand fought the huge fires that devastated California for nearly a month, especially the largest ever in that state. Western coast.

Beaten just a few months ago, the record for the most destructive fire in terms of area burned fell on Monday night and now belongs to the "Mendocino Complex", which continued its wild course in the wooded hills, steep and hard to reach around Clear Lake, north of San Francisco.

According to a report from the Calfire fire department at 1400 GMT on Tuesday, the fire destroyed 117 638 hectares since 27 July. It is actually composed of two adjoining homes: the " Fire Ranch ", circumscribed at 20%, and the " River Fire ", circumscribed at 78%.

Neither natural obstacles such as rivers nor artificially developed ditches have slowed down the " Fire Ranch ", firefighters fight with several water bombers, two Douglas DC-10s and a Boeing 747 .

"If the #Mendocinocomplex was a city, it would be the fourteenth largest in the United States. Bigger than New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston, "tweeted Tuesday Cal OES, the emergency services office of the governor of California.

The record was held since December 2017 by the fire "Thomas" and its 114 078 hectares burned to ashes.

Since mid-July, a dozen people - including at least four firefighters - have been killed by the many fires ravaging the most populous state in the United States.

The California Forest Service counted eight major fires on Tuesday, including a new one in the south.

Slightly further north of the "Mendocino Complex", the firefighters were battling the "Carr Fire" which was Tuesday morning the twelfth largest in the state with nearly 68,000 hectares destroyed since July 23. It was limited to 47% Tuesday morning and destroyed more than 1,600 buildings, including a thousand homes.

It raged near the town of Redding and mobilized Tuesday morning more than 4,700 firefighters, including more than fifty arrived from Australia and New Zealand.

"Steep ravines"

"The fire is located in steep gullies with various wind exposures that complicate the firefighters' efforts," Calfire explained .

So intense that it generated a whirlwind like a tornado of fire, it was provoked by the authorities by the "mechanical failure of a vehicle" that caused sparks in an area that became a real powder keg because of the drought.

When the " Ferguson Fire ", which required the partial closure of Yosemite National Park during the tourist season, firefighters continued their slow progression to control Tuesday morning at nearly 40%. It has ravaged since July 13 more than 36 000 hectares.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated since mid-July, although some have been allowed to return home in recent days after the flames.

These fires are "extremely fast, extremely aggressive, extremely dangerous," Scott McLean, an assistant chief of Calfire, said on Monday.

"See how huge it has become in just a few days (...). See how fast this Mendocino Complex fire has gone up in the ranking of claims, "he said.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday morning the state of California natural disaster, ordering federal assistance to local authorities for reconstruction efforts and release of funds for those affected in Shasta County, affected by the fire " Carr ".

In several tweets posted Monday, he blamed lack of water for fighting fires and recommended "cutting trees", attacking environmental protection laws rather than climate change.

According to him, Californian fires are "amplified" by "the bad environmental laws which do not make it possible to use correctly large quantities of easily accessible water".

"It's hijacked in the Pacific Ocean. We must also cut trees to prevent fire from spreading, "he continued.

The Republican billionaire withdrew the United States in 2017 from the Paris agreement on climate.

In fact, "we have plenty of water to fight these fires, but let's be clear: it's our changed climate that is leading to more serious and destructive fires," Daniel Berlant, deputy deputy chief, told The New York Times daily. of Calfire.

 

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