California again in the flames. The “Mother Fire”, the largest fire of the year in the state, exploded on Wednesday, July 2 in the County of San Luis Obispo, a rural region of the center. Around 200 people are under the evacuation order and a few dozen buildings are threatened by the flames.
But more than a potential damage, it is the speed of propagation of this fire that impresses: in 24 hours, it devastated almost 213 km2, according to the last Bulletin of the Calfire agency. This Thursday morning, it was contained in 10%, according to the same source.
A fire fogged by the wind
The fire is fed by summer bursts, which gain intensity at sunset, as explained by meteorologist Ryan Kittell of the National Meteorological Service to Associated Press. “The winds are quite low during the day, but they strengthen considerably in the afternoon and night,” said the scientist.
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.
“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.
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.
Source: BFM TV
