California Wildfire Photos, Satellite Video Show Devastating Destruction; Raging Fire Now 16% Contained

About 3,000 firefighters are working to put out the Oak Fire, which started Monday afternoon and destroyed scores of homes in Mariposa, California, close to Yosemite National Park.

The California Wildfire, which has burned more than 18,000 acres, is thought to be the biggest wildfire to have broken out in California this year. "Extreme drought," "high tree mortality," and a bark beetle problem in the locality.

According to Natasha Fouts, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), thousands of individuals were forced to leave their homes due to the California Wildfires, per Fox News.

The California Fire Department reported the California Wildfire is only around 16% contained, and on Monday, it destroyed 21 homes and 34 other structures. Fouts noted that it still poses a hazard to more than 2,400 properties in the surrounding communities.

California Wildfire images were taken and posted online, showing its massive damage, as reported by Yahoo! News.

Fouts noted: "This is the first fire we've had this season that is fast moving and destructive, and we're just getting started, so, I like to tell people to hope for the best but prepare for the worst."

Residential Areas At Risk

The official added that they were reporting "long-range spotting, almost 2 miles ahead of the fire. With everything being so dry, high temperatures, and low humidity, when embers do land ahead of the fire, it's creating spot fires because the fuels are so receptive" during the California wildfire.

The California Fire PIO also said the fire has moved into a populated neighborhood and the mixture of homes and forest "present challenges for firefighters" looking to douse the flames. By Monday, the fire had consumed more than 27 square miles of forest, per Yahoo News.

The absence of other major fires in the region enabled Cal Fire to concentrate 2,500 firefighters on the blaze, and the lack of wind allowed for the continuous use of aircraft to drop water and fire retardant, officials said.

Hector Vasquez, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said in a command post in Mariposa, California, roughly 150 miles inland from San Francisco, described the scene as "a perfect storm."

Extreme Heat Continues Its Onslaught

The fire was no longer moving toward Yosemite, which was about 10 miles away, but rather into the Sierra National Forest. Another blaze did pose a threat to a grove of enormous, historic sequoia trees in Yosemite a few weeks ago.

Climate change, which has brought more frequent and severe heat waves and droughts, has raised the risk of wildfires. The federal government reports that the water levels in the country's two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have dropped to "critical levels" as a result of the West's two-decade mega-drought.

While there were few chances for thunderstorms, temperatures in the area climbed to 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius). The National Weather Service predicted temperatures of 100 degrees for the majority of the week, per Alarabiya News.

The two most disastrous years on record occurred in 2020 and 2021, when more than 6.8 million acres-an area larger than Rwanda-were destroyed by fire.

Tags

Climate change, California, United States