[Breaking] Northern California Wildfire Continues To Grow, Thousands Evacuated
A wildfire Raging in Northern California has doubled in size, Fox News reports. The wildfire is encroaching upon the small California town of Lower Lake, which has been ordered evacuated for the second time in the last two years, said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Just over four hours ago the Laker County Sheriff’s Department in California ordered the evacuation of all of Morgan Valley Road to Butte Rock Ranch Road. It has set up an evacuation center at Highland Senior Center in Clearlake.
[Residents can check with their local Sherriff’s department here.]
Lower Lake has a population of roughly 1,300 and takes up about 242 hectares of land.
More than 500 firefighters are working hard everywhere in an effort to contain the wildfire whose cause is as yet unknown. The blaze can be suppressed both on the ground and from the air. We have all seen the images in recent years of firefighters risking their lives in desperate efforts to save people and their property. Unfortunately, we seem to see this quite frequently these days.
Suzie Blankenship, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the AP that the fires are only about 15 percent contained as of Sunday morning local time. She also explained that since the local areas are so dry due to lack of rain the likelihood of such blazes has increased.
“The fuels are extremely dry. This is the time of year when everybody has to be extra cautious. The fire activity could change in a moment’s notice right now.”
So, continued drought in the State of California is not only hurting local agriculture and ecology, but is also costing countless losses in both private and public property due to fires.
Unfortunately, this has become a frequent story. Wildfires seem to break out all of the country these days. California is not the only state to suffer from them. But it has forests that are dry and so it has suffered from both Northern wildfire and Southern wildfire.
The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection ordered an evacuation in Monterey County at 7:45 a.m. local time Sunday morning.
“EVACUATION ORDERS: Areas that are under evacuation orders include Coast Rd, from the 2-mile marker south to Coast Ridge Road on the East side of Hwy 1 to include all areas accessed by these roads.
“EVACUATION WARNINGS: Areas are under evacuation warnings, West of Hwy 1 at Coast road at the intersection of Andrew Molera State Park to Graves Canyon. Cachagua Road at Nason Road to Trampa Canyon Rd, Cachagua Road from Carmel Valley Road to Tassajara Rd, Tassajara Road from Carmel Valley Road to the Tassajara Hot Springs Zen Center. This area includes all roads that lead from the above described roads.”
The department further warned that all residents should prepare to leave the areas listed above and be sure to take any medications, pets, family valuables, etc. with them. Residents have also been told to close all windows and leave all doors closed.
“All residents are asked to be READY: Create and maintain defensible space and harden your home against flying embers. Get SET: Prepare your family and home ahead of time for the possibility of having to evacuate. Be Ready to GO! Take the evacuation steps necessary to give your family and home the best chance of surviving a wildfire.”
For more information local residents and anyone with friends or loved ones in the area should go to the following link for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s website’s information page.
[Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]
