Lightning-sparked wildfires in Northern California exploded in size on Friday to become some of the largest in state history, forcing thousands to flee and destroying hundreds of homes and other structures as reinforcements began arriving to help weary firefighters. More than 12,000 firefighters aided by helicopters and air tankers are battling wildfires throughout California. Three groups of fires, called complexes, burning north, east and south of San Francisco have together scorched 991 square miles (2,566 square kilometers), destroyed more than 500 structures and killed five people. At least 100,000 people are under evacuation orders. The number of personnel assigned to the sprawling LNU Complex – a cluster of blazes burning in the heart of wine country north of San Francisco – doubled to more than 1,000 firefighters Friday, Cal Fire Division Chief Ben Nicholls said. "I'm happy to say there are resources all around the fire today. We have engines on all four sides of it working hand-in-hand with the bulldozers to start containing this fire, putting it to bed," Mr Nicholls said. Fire crews with help from "copious amounts of fixed-wing aircraft" were working on Friday to stop a large blaze from reaching communities in the West Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County, he said.
Federal authorities on Saturday forced demonstrators away from a plaza near a federal building as dueling demonstrations in Portland by right-wing and left-wing protesters turned violent. The area includes county and federal buildings and has been the site of numerous recent protests. A federal courthouse is also near that area. Posts from the same category: California nears milestone: 4 million acres burned in fires California wine country wildfire forces evacuation of hospital, hundreds of homes Australia braces for second heatwave as wildfires continue to rage 'Terror crocodiles' with teeth the size of bananas once roamed North America preying on dinosaurs […]
Lightning-sparked wildfires in Northern California exploded in size on Friday to become some of the largest in state history, forcing thousands to flee and destroying hundreds of homes and other structures as reinforcements began arriving to help weary firefighters. More than 12,000 firefighters aided by helicopters and air tankers are battling wildfires throughout California. Three groups of fires, called complexes, burning north, east and south of San Francisco have together scorched 991 square miles (2,566 square kilometers), destroyed more than 500 structures and killed five people. At least 100,000 people are under evacuation orders. The number of personnel assigned to the sprawling LNU Complex – a cluster of blazes burning in the heart of wine country north of San Francisco – doubled to more than 1,000 firefighters Friday, Cal Fire Division Chief Ben Nicholls said. "I'm happy to say there are resources all around the fire today. We have engines on all four sides of it working hand-in-hand with the bulldozers to start containing this fire, putting it to bed," Mr Nicholls said. Fire crews with help from "copious amounts of fixed-wing aircraft" were working on Friday to stop a large blaze from reaching communities in the West Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County, he said.
