[ad_1]
Several people were missing as the Dixie Fire, the largest wildfire in the United States, ravaged communities in northern California, authorities said on Saturday.
Details: Evacuation orders were in place for several mountain communities in the Sierra Nevada, as the third largest fire in California history continued to threaten homes. Greg Hagwood, a Plumas County supervisor, said some residents on evacuation orders “who have guns” told law enforcement, “” Get out of my property and you don’t tell me to leave, “” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.
-
The Pulmas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that officers were trying to confirm the fate of five people, two of whom had been reported safe but no official contact was made.
-
Four are residents of fire-ravaged Greenville, the other from Chester. In recent days, the two towns in Plumas County have been threatened by the blaze. The damage to buildings in Greenville was particularly severe.
-
The blaze was also raging in Butte, Lassen and Tehama counties.
Threat level: Fire activity in the western area overnight was “minimal due to smoke reversal and better relative humidity recovery overnight,” according to a statement from Cal Fire.
-
But “the humidity of the fuel remains historically low and has made it difficult to suppress the spread of the fire,” the statement added.
-
In the east, cooler temperatures, better relative humidity and calmer winds “dramatically reduced fire behavior,” allowing firefighters to supplement structural protection efforts, according to Cal Fire.
In numbers : The Dixie fire burned over nearly 447,000 acres and was 21% contained on Saturday.
-
Cal Fire said Saturday that 184 structures had been confirmed destroyed, including more than 40 overnight. Most of the damage occurred in the town of Greenville during the gold mining era.
-
Chester saw eight buildings destroyed or damaged.
The context: US West in severe drought – worst to hit region so far this century, says Axios’ Andrew Freedman
-
Studies show that man-made climate change increases the likelihood and severity of heat waves and droughts and, as a result, forest fires, Freedman notes.
Go further: Judge says PG&E needs to explain his role in Dixie Fire
Like this article ? Get more Axios and subscribe for free to Axios Markets.
[ad_2]
Source link