Authorities said about 26,000 people have been ordered to evacuate in Northern California as a raging wildfire spreads rapidly and uncontrolled across several acres amid a dangerous heat wave in the western United States.
The Thompson Fire has burned about 14 square kilometers (5.5 square miles) since it started Tuesday, according to official data. Authorities have issued evacuation orders for thousands of people to leave their homes and seek shelter.
The smoke could be seen from space
Firefighters have cordoned off roads to prevent the flames from reaching homes, while the blaze generated a huge column of smoke that could be seen from space.
The flames are burning mainly north of the community of Oroville in Butte County, home to about 20,000 residents.
The town is about 110 kilometers north of Sacramento, the capital of California, and just 38 from Paradise, a community devastated in 2018 by the devastating Camp Fire, the deadliest in the history of the state, with some 85 deaths.
Butte County under red alert
“Butte County has been under a red alert since last night and will remain so until tomorrow night,” local fire chief Garrett Sjolund said Wednesday.
An additional concern for authorities is the celebration of July 4, the United States Independence Day, which traditionally features fireworks. Due to the advance of the flames, the celebration has been cancelled in the county.
“This is a bad fire season,” said Butte Sheriff Kory Honea.
“The last thing we need is someone who bought fireworks going out and doing something stupid,” said Honea, who noted that the northern region faced four fires in two weeks.
Firefighters arrive as reinforcements
Authorities said nearly 1,400 firefighters were fighting the blaze on the ground using heavy machinery and from the air using planes and helicopters.
Sjolund said that equipment and personnel are arriving from other regions to reinforce operations.
“The conditions in our county this summer are very different than what we have experienced the last two summers. The fuels are very dense. The brush is dry, and as you can see, any wind will move a fire very quickly,” Sjolund said.
So far, eight people, including civilians and firefighters, have been injured, while AFP teams on the ground were able to notice that several houses and vehicles have been burned.
State of Emergency, Governor Newsom
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency, while the San Francisco weather service issued alerts for several northern California towns due to the scorching heat wave that has seen temperatures reach 46 degrees Celsius in some regions.
“Nearly 150 million people are under heat wave advisories across 21 states as of this afternoon,” the service said Wednesday.
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