Fireman killed in Ferguson fire as flames roar across California



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Deadly fires continued to tear California from the northern border to mountain ranges in the south of the state as furious flames were burning all the time and tens of thousands of people were still fleeing.

A firefighter from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks died after being struck by a falling tree on Sunday. The firefighter, whose name was not disclosed, was a member of a tactical firefighting operation that fought the Ferguson fire in Mariposa County. Fire was the eighth person killed in the recent outbreak of flames

Seventeen large forest fires in California continued to upset the summer for residents and visitors, closing the famous Yosemite National Park to be extended until Friday. ordered evacuated from Riverside County to the border of Oregon.


State counts released on Sunday show that forest fires burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed more than 500 structures in the Redding area alone. Nearly 20,000 homes are still under threat as evacuees are sent to a safe place in Red Cross centers, colleges and public schools. More than 12,000 firefighters are working to contain the dozen fires that the authorities describe as "significant".

The fires took the lives of eight people, including a great-grandmother and her siblings aged 4 and 5, firefighters and "We are well ahead of the fire activity that we We saw last year, "said Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "We're only in July, we're not even in the worst part of the fire season."

Hot, dry weather and wind gusts in some affected areas did not promise rapid extinction fires . They continue to rage in the southern San Jacinto Mountains, in Mendocino, Lake and Napa Counties, and as far north as the California-Oregon border.

Recent fires have caused more than half a dozen injured firefighters. caused the death of Jeremy Stoke, a fire inspector at the Redding Fire Department; Don Ray Smith, 81, a private bulldozer operator; and Braden Varney, 36, Cal Fire heavy fire equipment operator and unidentified firefighter in Ferguson Fire. Other victims include the three members of Redding's family and another person from the Redding area whose name was not disclosed.

The largest forest fire to date remains the Carr Fire in Shasta County. 19659136] Since Wednesday, all visitors have been excluded from the greatest wonder of California, the Yosemite Valley. Authorities have extended the closure of the valley until Friday because of the Ferguson fire, which burns in the Sierra National Forest. Ferguson's fire broke out 25 miles west of the park on July 13th.

And in an increasingly grim routine, residents of Mariposa County faced a similar forest fire threat a year ago.

The annoying air quality affected the areas surrounding the fires and even further afield, with unhealthy conditions reported up northwestern Nevada. The spread of fine particles has prompted health officials in Washoe County to issue smokescreen warnings to people with lung disease, the elderly and children.

A chalky haze nestled in the Lakeport area on Sunday and visibility became more difficult. afternoon. From time to time the wind threatened Kelseyville, and some evacuees chatted wearing surgical masks.

The Sutter Lakeside Hospital evacuated patients from all departments, except the emergency room and the family birth center. The evacuation was lifted on Sunday morning

. Until now, air quality in the Bay Area has not been significantly affected by fires, said Ralph Borrmann, spokesman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. After consulting observers on Sunday afternoon, Borrmann said the counties remained in the "right" range, including Napa and Sonoma counties, where the impacts would be most likely

. Redding a few days, so that did not have an impact on what we breathe at ground level, "Borrmann said. Despite a little haze in the beginning, "he did not reach the breathing zone."

The writer of the Chronicle Megan Cassidy and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Karen de Sá is a San Francisco Chronicle writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ KedeSa1

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