A “mega-fire”, has been ravaging the Californian forest since last Friday and continues to spread this Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people, against a backdrop of severe heatwaves affecting tens of millions of Americans across the United States.
The baptised fire “Oak Fire”, lies in Mariposa County, near Yosemite National Park and its famous giant sequoias. It “has expanded considerably in the northern part, moving further into the Sierra National Forest”, according to a bulletin published on Sunday by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), as reported by AFP.
>> View all the striking images (photos and videos) of the fire in California.
Aided by a “severe drought”, strong winds and rising temperatures, the fire, which was tackled by some 2,000 firefighters supported by 17 helicopters, has burnt at least 6,313 hectares of forest, destroyed 10 properties, damaged five others and is threatening several thousand more.
The fire is by no means under control, and the heat, combined with low humidity, will “hinder” efforts to tackle it, CAL FIRE said. On Saturday, “A state of emergency for Mariposa County due to the effects of the Oak Fire” … was declared, State Governor Gavin Newsom announced in a statement.
A worrying cloud phenomenon
As the flames raged ever more fiercely, the sky over California gradually changed due to a cloud phenomenon that almost completely obscured the sky.
The smoke rising from the fire has formed a thick cloud over Mariposa County, but the winds are carrying the smoke, which is now affecting much of the northern Sierra Nevada, Lassen Volcanic National Park and the northern Sacramento Valley, as can be seen in images taken from space.
>> View all the striking images (photos and videos) of the fire in California.
In the space of three days, an area equivalent to 63 km² was ravaged by the flames. By way of comparison, the city of San Francisco covers an area equivalent to 121 km², which goes to show just how particularly fierce this fire was.
“It was terrifying when we left, because ash was falling on us and we could see this huge cloud of smoke. It looked as though it was right above our house and was coming towards us very quickly.”, Lynda Reynolds-Brown, a woman who had to leave her home, spoke on the local television channel KCRA 3.