California wildfires burned nearly one million acres in a week; five dead

The California wildfires have caused havoc after burning one million acres statewide in just a week, destroying hundreds of houses and killing five people. After the raging wildfires that have shook the entire world, more critical weather conditions have been forecasted for the region that have prompted fears to spark new fires.

As per several reports, two clusters of the devastating wildfires in the San Francisco Bay Area became the second and third largest wildfires in the recent state history by size. Taking cognizance of the situation, US President Donald Trump on August 22 issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to provide federal assistance and boost the state’s emergency response to the raging wildfires.

This comes after Governor of California Gavin Newsom pleaded with the president to grant the declarations. As per reports, Newsom in a statement earlier said that the disaster declaration will also help the victims affected by the wildfires by providing them crisis counseling, housing and other social services.

According to the state fire officials, light winds, cooler and more humid nighttime weather helped fire crews in slowing the spread of the wildfires. However, their efforts could get affected by warm, dry weather, erratic wind gusts and lightning in the forecast for the region. The National Weather Service issued a warning of high fire danger across the Bay Area and the Central Coast, starting from Sunday morning to Monday afternoon.

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Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, California has so far responded to 585 wildfires that have burned nearly a million acres. The fires have killed five people, destroyed nearly 700 houses and other places. As of August 21, nearly 13,700 firefighters on the line began to get help on the ground and in the air from 10 states, along with the National Guard and US military.

Thousands of people asked to leave homes

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention said that there are nearly 12,000 firefighters battling nearly two dozen major fires across the state, most sparked by lightning strikes which began on Saturday, August 15. As per several reports, nearly 175,000 people have been asked to leave their homes. On August 20, NASA shared the Terra satellite imagery of the plumes of smokes from the wildfires wreaking havoc in California.

(Image credit: AP)

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