99,000 hectares burnt: the forest fire in California is already the eleventh largest in its history

The massive fire in northeastern California has overtaken the 99,000 hectares burned and it is already the eleventh largest ever recorded in the history of the state.

The fire, which has been baptized as “Bowl“By the authorities it was declared on July 14 and the more than 5,500 people who work there were only able to contain it at 32%, reported the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

Although the investigation into the cause of the fire is still open, the main hypothesis we are working on is that of a failure of the electrical network.

According to documentation provided to the California Public Supply Commission, a PG&E operator was repairing an incident on a power line in the area when he observed how bad fuses at the top of a tower had started a fire in the undergrowth.

PG&E (as Pacific Gas & Electric is commonly known) is the largest supplier of electricity in the United States, providing electricity to virtually everyone in central and northern California.

The blaze brings back the worst memories to residents of Paradise, a nearby town that was ravaged in 2018 by the deadliest blaze in California history, killing 85 people and also triggered by a power line outage by PG&E.

High temperatures these days trigger demand for electricity (largely due to the use of air conditioners), which increases the pressure on the network and, Combined with the extreme dryness of the land, they create a very favorable environment for fire..

Authorities have warned that with unpredictable winds and extremely dry fuels, the risk of outbreaks remains high.

Outside of California in neighboring Oregon, what is currently the largest of all fires in the United States is still active, known as the “Bootleg,” which was declared after a Love at first sight on July 6 in the Wooded Winema-Fremont area.

The flames have already charred more than 167,000 hectares, but firefighters have made significant progress in recent days and contained it to 84%, according to the last update on Sunday, almost 30 points higher than on Saturday. “This reflects several days of fieldwork during which teams were able to reinforce and build additional containment lines,” said firefighter spokesman Al Nash.

Nearly 22,000 firefighters and support personnel were fighting 91 large active wildfires covering 2,813 square miles (7,285 square kilometers) in most western states, the National Interagency Fire Center said.

A historic drought and recent heat waves linked to climate change have made wildfires more difficult to fight in the American West. Scientists say climate change has made the region much hotter and drier over the past 30 years and will continue to cause more extreme weather conditions and more frequent and destructive forest fires.

(With information from EFE and AP)

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