Los Angeles, CA - Aside from sparking a number of blazes in the Northern area of California, the lightning brought by the unusual thunderstorm on Sunday also stoked a massive wildfire that forced hundreds of people to vacate their homes in the area.
Around 4,500 buildings were still threatened by the wildfire that creeps towards the Angeles National Forest. Firefighters who were in the steep and rugged terrain did not only battle against the blazes but also the lightning strikes along with the winds up to 15 miles per hour which pushed the fire upwards going to the top of the hill.
Spokesperson coming from the Fire Department, Jake Miller shared that they had set up a containment line at the top of the hills in order to limit the damage and will not move over to the other side to avoid further spread, NBC reported.
He also shared that it is so difficult as there were many factors that need to be considered including the erratic wind and other unusual conditions.
Only 12% of the Lake Fire was contained on Sunday after damaging around 28 square miles of brush and trees in the area. Fire officials mentioned that 33 buildings and at least a dozen homes had been carbonized by the fire.
Read also: 20,000 Acres of Land Burned as Wild Fire Engulfs Southern California
Another spokesman from the Fire Department, Tom Ewald also stated that the temperature reached the three-digit mark as it hit more than 110 degrees and a 'pyrocumulus' or a 'fire cloud' created an erratic fire behavior.
According to CNBC, the current concern for the firefighters was the thunderstorm and excessive heat that they were experiencing as they are battling against the fire that caused damage of around 4 square miles in the foothills above the suburb of Azusa in Los Angeles. Based on the initial investigation the fire was believed caused by a homeless man on Thursday.
South Coast Air Quality Management District stated that multiple areas within the state experienced the triple-digit temperature over the weekend and witnessed that combination of prolonged heat and smoke from wildfires which prompted the ozone pollution to reach levels that were not experienced in decades in multiple areas.
The company also shared that on Sunday and Monday afternoons, the air quality may also reach from unhealthy to very unhealthy levels especially on numerous regions in the Southern California area.
Meanwhile, in Northern California, offshore tropical storm's moisture fueled a thunderstorm that caused numerous lightning strikes early on Sunday which ignited small fires in the area and knocked out the electricity within the San Francisco Bay Area.
Based on the National Weather Service, the wind gusts reached 75mph (121kph) which may cause another round of lightning strikes probably early on Monday.
Climate scientists at the University of California in Los Angeles tweeted that it is probably the most widespread and violent summer thunderstorm that the Bay area experienced. He also mentioned that it is also one of the hottest nights in years that they had experienced.
The unstable weather also triggered a rare fire-induced tornado or also known as 'firenado' in the north of Lake Tahoe on Saturday afternoon.
Related article: 'Firenado' Rips Through Southern California, Burns More than 11,000 Acres of Land
