Thousands in California without power amid fall heat wave as storm exacerbates wildfires

Adding to the worsening wildfires, a major power cut left people in California left residents looking for alternative power sources. Thousands of people in the northern part of the state were left without electricity as a local storm exacerbated the wildfires. Hundreds of blazes have been burning across the US state since August and have charred over 4,267,386 acres of land till now.

In what Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) dubbed as “last resort option”, power of 50,000 households were shut down on the evening of October 15. It even expanded to about 1,00,000 in 24 counties, Gaudian reported. In addition, another 20,000 people have been warned of electricity cut on the evening of October 15.

Red flag issued for San Francisco Bay

Meanwhile, National Weather Service has issued heat advisories till October 16  for temperatures in the 90s and even triple digits in many parts of the state. Red flags were issued in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the recurring storm Diablo has been bringing winds at a speed of 55mph. Experts have warned that the storm could rekindle new fires in the already existing worst fire crisis in the history of the state.

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According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, more than 8,200 California wildfires have scorched “well over 4 million acres” or 6,250 square miles, since the beginning of the year.  Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Meanwhile, scientists have said that climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable, AP reported. 

Around the state, 17,000 firefighters were battling nearly two dozen major blazes. Virtually all the damage has occurred since mid-August when five of the six largest fires in state history erupted. Lightning strikes caused some of the most devastating blazes.

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Image: AP