Nearly 3,000 firefighters battle California’s largest fires of the year

About 3,000 firefighters fight the flames of the largest fire of the year to date in the state of California, which has burned more than 36,900 acres, according to the latest update from the California Forest Service.

This increase in troops in the last hours has caused the fire to be contained this Tuesday by 26%, higher than the 20% registered this Monday.

The fast-burning fire is affecting the Plumas National Forest, in the extreme north of the Sierra Nevada, near the city of Beckwourth, about 80 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe.

In that area, evacuation orders have been issued for some 3,000 residents of different neighboring counties, according to estimates by local media.

During this weekend the fire moved rapidly and reached a state highway near the city of Doyle, where it burned at least six structures.

The fire services hope to have the fire under control this Friday.

Another fire near Yosemite National Park, which has been 10% contained, has also burned more than 3,600 acres since Sunday night, according to the latest update from the U.S. Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The fire baptized as “River“It has destroyed five buildings,” said Jaime Williams, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) at a press conference on Monday.

The region where this fire broke out on Sunday is experiencing sky-high temperatures of more than 42 degrees, accelerating the spread of flames and making it extremely difficult for firefighters to work.

In total, and according to Cal Fire figures, so far this year there have been more than 4,100 fires in that state in the western United States, despite the traditionally more complicated months in terms of fires (October and November) still they have not arrived.

The director of the Northern California Firefighters Council, Lenya Quinn-Davidson, explained to EFE on Tuesday that the conditions this season in that state “are very dry” after “several unprecedented heat waves” in the first months of the year.

“The fuels (vegetation, sticks, leaves and other materials that carry fire) are very dry, and if we have ignition events, such as lightning or other human-caused, fires will burn very well.” Said Quinn-Davidson, who is also a firefighter consultant at the University of California.

California lived in 2020 the worst year in its history in terms of number of fires and burned area, since more than four million acres burned, which is 1,618,742 hectares.

According to the Cal Fire, the state suffered more than 9,900 fires last year, nearly 10,500 structures were damaged, and 33 fire-related deaths were confirmed.