 |
Deadly CA Wildfires Can Even
Be Seen from Outer Space |
The deadly
wildfires devastating Northern California continued
to spread across dry hills and vineyards Wednesday, prompting more
evacuations from a menacing arc of flames that has killed at least 21
people, destroyed more than 3,500 buildings and battered the region’s
renowned wine-growing industry.
Officials expect the death toll
to rise as crews begin to reach heavily burned areas. Hundreds in
flame-ravaged Sonoma County remain missing, and higher winds coupled
with low humidity and parched lands could hamper efforts to contain the
fires or create new ones.
“It’s going to continue to get worse before it gets better,” Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott said at a news conference Wednesday.
What
makes these fast-moving fires particularly dangerous, Pimlott said, is
that they “aren’t just in the backwoods. . . . These fires are burning
in and around developed communities.”
Nearly two dozen large fires have been raging in the northern part of
the state, sending thousands of residents to evacuation centers and
burning roughly 170,000 acres — a collective area larger than the city
of Chicago. That size is likely to grow.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 285 people in the county remain unaccounted
for, Giordano said. It’s unclear if those who are still missing have
been harmed, or are simply unable to reach friends and families, as
fires have disabled much of the communication system in the region.
Note EU-Digest: With these wildfires happening in CA on a regular basis, one should wonder why no precautions have been taken to stop these events from occurring, like safety (no trees ) fire defense zones. Once again, it seems to be the very poor US infrastructure, that like in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico is the main culprit, causing all this human misery. As the saying goes "Penny Wise and Pound foolish".
Read moreL ‘A serious, critical, catastrophic event’: At least 21 dead as California wildfires spread - The Washington Post
