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The McKinney fire that sparked in northern California late last week has spread to more than 50,000 acres and grown into the state’s largest wildfire so far this year, as climate change makes the blazes more commonplace and more intense.
Angela Crawford leans against a fence as a wildfire called the McKinney fire burns a hillside above … [+]
Associated Press
ključne činjenice
The fire spread to 51,468 ari on Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire, just days after it first began raging on Friday in rural Siskiyou County, California, located on the state’s border with Oregon.
That makes it the largest wildfire recorded in California so far this year and more than dvostruko than the second-largest, the Oak Fire, the blaze that began earlier this month and threatened Yosemite National Park’s famous groves of sequoia trees.
No portions of the McKinney fire had been contained early Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire, and thousands of people in surrounding communities have been naređeno da se evakuiše.
Authorities rescued oko 60 ljudi hiking on nearby portions of the Pacific Crest Trail, one of the country’s most popular backpacking routes.
Guverner Kalifornije Gavin Newsom (D) proglašen a state of emergency Saturday in Siskiyou County due to the McKinney fire and two smaller wildfires, a move that could give the state more flexibility to respond to the blazes.
Ključna pozadina
The fire spread quickly because of heavy winds from thunderstorms over the weekend and the region’s uslovi suše. The cause of the initial blaze is still unknown. The McKinney fire is the latest to plague California this summer, following the hrast, u Washburn a Electra fires that have forced thousands of evacuations and burnt tens of thousands of acres in northern California. Studies show that wildfires in California have pogoršalo over the years as summer heatwaves become more intense because of climate change.
Daljnje čitanje
Evo kako Kalifornija štiti poznata stabla sekvoje u Yosemitu od šumskih požara (Forbes)
Hiljade bježe od požara Electra California – evo što znamo do sada. (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/07/31/californias-largest-wildfire-this-year-surpasses-50000-acres/