Wide-ranging Wildfires in Northern California which are considered to be the deadliest in the history of the State still continues to blaze the area. At least 21 people have been killed, thousands have fled to safety and 240 are still missing. Also, 2,000 structures were burnt and destroyed.
Declaration of major disaster
President Trump -- via Vice President Mike Pence – made a major disaster declaration in the State Of California due to the wildfires raging in the area. The approval of the declaration will enable the U.S Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to utilize the federal funds to assist California in its operations in putting down the fires.
The State of California requested the declaration on October 9 for the named fires in the counties of Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Butte, Yuba, Nevada, and Mendocino.
One of the worst disasters in California history
Government authorities of California said that approximately 122,000 acres had been razed down by the wildfires.The largest blazes are in the counties of Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino. Tubbs fire swept out 27,000 acres, Atlas Peak Fire burned 25,000 acres, and Mendocino County had up to 21,000 acres blazed with flames.
Tubbs and Atlas Peak Fire are not contained yet. California Fire Spokesman Daniel Berlant said that the non-stop winds preclude the firefighters from withstanding and putting off the fires.
He said that last Sunday, the winds were ranging between 50 to 70 mph which had intensified the fires.
The highest reported was 79 mph in the County of Sonoma. He further added that the fires will take many days before full containment and probably more weeks.
Weather forecasts no rain in the next days or even in the whole week.
Authorities expect heavy winds in the remaining days of the week. These situations create serious challenges to the firefighters in combating the fires. Thousands of firefighters were deployed from across the State and the California National Guard had added helicopters for the extensive extinguishing of the fires.
Evacuation order lifted
The order of evacuation in Anaheim, Orange, and Tustin had been lifted already after the fires in the area were contained. Zoo animals were also returned to their shelters in Irvine Regional Zoo in the county of Orange.
Residents who returned to their area returned to their areas felt disorientation upon seeing what was left of their homes. People were devastated returning home to nothing but ashes. Residents cry as they reminisce the memories in their homes where they stayed almost all their lives.
