A wildfire burning for a week in Northern California continues to grow out of control — one of about a dozen big blazes in the drought-stricken state that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate
Excerpt from this story from ABC News:
A wildfire burning for a week in Northern California continued to grow out of control, one of about a dozen big blazes in the drought-stricken state that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate.
There was zero containment Sunday of the Caldor Fire, which had charred nearly 154 square miles (399 square kilometers) of trees and brush in the northern Sierra Nevada after breaking out Aug. 14. The cause was under investigation.
Multiple large wildfires have incinerated at least 700 homes, many in and around the Sierra Nevada communities of Greenville and Grizzly Flats. About 13,000 residences remained under threat in communities tucked away in scenic forests.
The fires have burned roughly 2,300 square miles (6,000 square kilometers) and have sent smoke as far as the East Coast. They were burning in grass, brush and forest that is exceptionally dry from two years of drought likely exacerbated by climate change.
Nine national forests in California have been closed because of the fire threat.
To the northwest of the Caldor Fire, the massive Dixie Fire also kept expanding. In five weeks, the blaze about 175 miles (282 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco became the second-largest in state history and blackened an area twice the size of Los Angeles. It was 37% contained.
