By Shivani Kumar | Edited by Poulomi Ghosh, New Delhi UPDATED ON AUG 18, 2021 10:32 AM IST
Source: Hindustan Times Photo Source: Arny Mogensen
According to the forecast of the National Weather Service of the country, the wind speed is likely to become 35mph as it issued red flag warnings for several states in the western region.
Dixie Fire burns near in Lassen County, California.(AP)
Wildfires raging in the northern part of California are expected to be fuelled further to move to the western part and intensify several large fires that are already burning there. The risk of new fires has also been increased as the state is bracing for an early-season wind storm that could send flames burning out of control. According to the forecast of the National Weather Service of the country, the wind speed is likely to become 35mph as it issued red flag warnings for several states in the western region.
On Tuesday, the Caldore fire which erupted over the weekend spread through the small rural town of Grizzly flats as it tripled in size between Monday and Tuesday afternoon to nearly 50 square miles (129 square kilometres). The fast-moving Caldore fire has injured at least two people and burned around 50 homes in and around Grizzly Flats so far, according to the news agency AP report. To the north, the Dixie Fire — the largest of some 100 active wildfires in more than a dozen Western states — was advancing toward Susanville, population about 18,000. Wildfires are common in California, but over the last few years, California is seeing more and more wildfires and the intensity of these flames is just increasing every year. Why?
There are four key reasons that that state suffers from the most destructive fires in the country. The first is California is already a dry state. The land in California gets most of its moisture in the fall season which is dried out by the spring vegetation. Hence, the state experience the never-ending dry season, which essentially fuels the wildfires.
The second is climate change, which has made the west part of the US warmer and drier in the past 30 years and, according to experts, this will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive. Another factor is California's large population. Many people are not moving towards the forested areas of the state, where a spark caused by campfires, parties becomes out of control. Lastly, California is vulnerable to fires due to Santa Ana winds that dry out the vegetation and fuel embers snowball into larger blazes.
According to a report by the New York Times, fires caused by Santa Ana winds spread three times faster and burn closer to urban areas. They were responsible for 80% of the economic losses over two decades beginning in 1990, according to the report.
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