Lilac fire is the latest Wildfire to devastate California. It has destroyed ranches and retirement communities in the state apart from killing dozens of thoroughbred racehorses worth millions of dollars. Disasters of this nature usually take a heavy toll of the environment by burning out the green cover and forcing humans and wildlife to lose their habitats. This was no exception.
The Daily Mail reports that this wildfire forced more than 230,000 people to flee to safety as high-speed winds of up to 80 miles per hour fanned the fires. The number of racehorses lost in the fire is believed to be around two dozen as indicated by the California Horse Racing Board.
However, trainers estimate the loss to be nearer the three dozen mark.
Major setback for horse racing
The disaster in California has taken the trainers by surprise. The racehorses are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they had to be set free to fend for themselves. Their numbers could be in the region of several hundred, and many of them may have died. The final death toll would be known only later. Some of the animals were evacuated to the nearby track where many of them compete while others were cut loose.
These horses run in prestigious tracks like Del Mar and Santa Anita Park, and one of the race courses canceled all races for Friday to enable the racing community to mourn the losses.
Obviously, the wildfire has disturbed the future plans of the racing community.
Rescue operations launched
Thousands of firefighters in Los Angeles County and Ventura County are trying to douse the flames using aerial methods like fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The extremely dry conditions in California, coupled with strong winds, have created a situation where residents may have to evacuate at short notice.
The raging wildfires have consumed over 96,000 acres, and according to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, more than 230,000 people had to be evacuated in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The irreparable loss of the racehorses will not be easily forgotten. In October, wine country California faced wildfires that left 43 dead while nearly 10,000 had to flee to safety.
That disaster destroyed more than 22,000 acres.
Wildfire means heavy losses and the time has come to realize that these are because of global warming which disturbs the normal pattern of the weather. Scanty rainfall leads to drought conditions, the greenery dries up, and the environment takes a beating. It becomes a recipe for disaster because a tiny spark caused by friction between dry branches is enough to start a fire and destroy thousands of hectares of land. There is no denying the fact that climate change is responsible for the vagaries of nature that we are seeing around us in the form of disasters like droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, landslides etcetera.
