California under fire: second worst fire in history to sweep an area larger than Los Angeles

As if it were a hurricane, the California authorities baptized “Bowl” Again monstrous fire who has already devastated more than 187,562 hectares state and that it became the second worst in its history.

As, thousands of people flee of the area escaping the advancing flames that have already destroyed the historic town of Greenville of a thousand inhabitants.

In the past 24 hours, it has burned some 6,000 hectares. Now, as local authorities have warned, covers an area larger than Los Angeles and about the size of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Dixie is the largest active wildfire in the United States, but also one of the top 11 wildfires in California. Most worrying is that the eight largest forest fires in this state have occurred since december 2017. The reasons ? Scientists believe the answer lies in prolonged drought due to climate change and that left much of the western United States and Canada parched and vulnerable to explosive and highly destructive fires.

Five missing people

Authorities reported that three firefighters were injured On Saturday. The CalFire website reported that the fire remained content only 21% this Sunday and unchanged from the day before.

Crews believe the fire, which broke out on July 13, It won’t go out until August 20.

Light winds and increased humidity have helped firefighters in recent hours. However, high temperatures are expected to worsen the outlook in the coming days. For this week thermometers should exceed 38 degrees.

Meanwhile, thousands of residents fled the area and many of them found temporary accommodation in tents around the area, reported AFP.

On Saturday, the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office said it received reports of five missing people in Greenville. On the same day, the discovery of five other people whose fate is unknown was confirmed. 39% of the inhabitants of this county, with a population of about 19,000 people, are under evacuation orders.

CalFire has deployed workers to save homes in the towns of Crescent Mills and Hunt Valley. More than 5,000 people are fighting the blaze.

At the end of July, the number of acres burned in California increased by more than 250% from 2020, which had already been the worst year of wildfires in the modern history of the state.

An electrical failure?

According to official reports, Dixie destroyed 404 buildings and 185 minor structures. 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.

The newspaper The Washington Post revealed that a federal judge ordered Friday night to PG&E (as Pacific Gas & Electric is popularly known) this explains the role of the company in the outbreak of this fire.

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

PG&E is the nation’s largest electricity supplier, providing electricity to virtually everyone in central and northern California.