More than 300 firefighters are fighting this great fire of the year in California this Thursday, July 3 in California, who fears a particularly dangerous summer, when Donald Trump cuts to federal agencies responsible for fighting climate disasters.
The “Mother Fire” exploded on Wednesday in the county of San Luis Obispo, a rural region of the center of the state. Around 200 people are under the evacuation order and a few dozen buildings are threatened by the flames.
But more than potential damage, it is the speed of propagation of this fire that impresses: in less than 24 hours, devastated more than 143 km², according to the Calfire agency. The images of the state alert system show thick black smoke columns overlooking the hills of this mountainous region.
30 dead in fire in January
“The State will always be present to protect all communities, regardless of the place where a fire is declared,” said California Newsom governor’s office, announcing the sending of reinforcements.
This fire occurs after several other fires activated in recent days, which has caused evacuations in the region east of Los Angeles and have a difficult summer in California.
The state is still traumatized by the fires that devastated the megalopolis and killed 30 people in January.
Winter and spring have been abnormally dry in southern California, and vegetation is already dried as if it were in the middle of the summer, Daniel Swain, specialist in extreme events in UCLA, pointed out in a blog post.
“Given the forecasts that announce even more intense and generalized heat at the end of summer, this month or these two months before the degree of dry vegetation will have a strong impact on combustion conditions later in the season.”
57% of the land of this State under federal jurisdiction
This higher risk occurs at a time when Donald Trump implements important budget cuts and layoffs in the Forestry Agency, the American Ocean and Atmospheric Observation Agency (NOAA) and FEMA, the Federal Disaster Management Agency.
On Wednesday, Governor Newsom, a possible presidential camp for the Democrat by 2028, accused Donald Trump not to finance enough brush trimming operations and controlled fires to avoid fires.
“We need an equivalent commitment in terms of resources, not beautiful speeches,” he addressed, recalling that “57% of the lands in this state are under the jurisdiction of the federal government.”
Source: BFM TV
