The California wildfire spread again with strong winds

The fire situation worsened in California on Tuesday, August 17th.

As a precaution many power lines were disconnected.

The “Dixie” fire, the second largest wildfire already recorded in California, has been burning since mid-July in the Sierra Nevada area northeast of San Francisco.

According to the California Forest Service and Fire Protection (Call Fire), it already burned 244,430 hectares of forest Tuesday morning.

Strong winds burned nearly 13,760 hectares of fire in a single day between Monday and Tuesday, the largest increase in the 24 hours since the eruption.

About 1,200 homes and buildings were destroyed in the blaze, and 16,000 others are thought to be at risk, leading to the evacuation of 12,000 to 28,000 people.

“Caldor”, another wildfire

The “Dixie” fire is the largest wildfire to devastate western America this summer. But another, small wildfire turned out to be one of California’s main threats on Tuesday.

The fire, located 100 kilometers from Sacramento, spread to the mountain village of Grizzly Plots in El Dorado County.

Two civilians were seriously injured and an unknown number of buildings were gutted in the blaze early Tuesday morning, according to Call Fire.

According to the Sacramento Bee newspaper, the village of 1,200 people suffered material losses, including an elementary school, a church and a post office.

The total number of people displaced by the “Caldor” fire was more than 11,000 on Tuesday evening, according to emergency services at the California governor’s office, and forced evacuation orders were issued for several communities, including Pollock Pines and Somerset.

In the face of high winds, electricity and gas company Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) deliberately cut off power in Northern California to reduce the risk of fire.

According to the company, 51,000 homes and businesses have been affected by the power cuts. PG&E expects to ease the wind on Wednesday, which will be able to recover electricity within 24 hours.

Author: France 24 – France 24