The Apple Fire is started on July 31 2020 during the 2020 California wildfire season. The wildfire began in Cherry Valley, as three separate smaller blazes within the rural canyons along Oak Glen Road. More than 14,000 firefighters battling California wildfires, around 7,800 residents have been told to evacuate the area.
The LNU Lightning Complex Fire that is burning across five counties – Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Yolo and Solano.
Marcio Jose Sanchez | AP
Wildfires are a natural hazard of California’s landscape. Climate change can be consider as the key drive of this situation. The blaze had been fuelled by warmer summer and spring temperatures, low humidity, reduced snowpack and dry vegetation in this area. One of the highest ever temperatures on Earth was recorded in California’s Death Valley, before this week.
The US Forest Service told the Riverside Press-Enterprise, a local newspaper, that because the fire was on rugged terrain, it was dangerous for firefighters to try and surround it.
“We don’t want to put firefighters in a dangerous situation,” said spokesperson Lisa Cox. “It’s burning in a straight line up a mountain.”
Thousands of people have had to flee their homes in areas near San Francisco after several quick-moving wildfires swept into the region. Most at risk is the city of Vacaville, home to about 100,000, which lies between San Francisco and Sacramento.
Adrees Latif | Reuters
Governor Newsom told, “We are experiencing fires the likes of which we haven’t seen in many, many years,”
Few day before (20 August), pilot of a water-dropping helicopter crashed near the city of Coalinga.
According to the reporters, the fire is larger than city of Washington DC. So far this year the US has experienced fewer wildfires than in 2019.
At a press conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom pointed to climate change as the driver of this year’s destructive wildfire season.
He said, “We are dealing with different climate conditions [resulting] in fires the likes of which we haven’t seen in modern recorded history.”
The fire is now the second-largest in state history. Wildfires have burned more than 1 million acres in past week. Evacuations have impacted more than 100,000 Californians, though some orders have started to lift. Air quality throughout the region remains unhealthy and officials recommend to stay indoors.
Cover Photo – tampabay.com by Noah Berger | Associated Press
