California Wildfires

In recent news, nearly 9,000 firefighters were battling the California wildfires Tuesday, the deadliest wildfire in state history.  Search teams have been using search dogs and power saws in hopes of finding victims of the “Campfire” that was located in Northern California. At least 44 people from the wildfire are dead, and more than 200 people are missing. The victims that were lucky enough to survive had to find a place to stay. In Southern California orders for evacuation took place in areas that were affected by the “Woolsey Fire.” After coming back home, many were told to leave again. When they came back from the evacuation, they thought it was safe but only returned to be told to leave again.

There is a big warning of poor air quality in this area, and a National Weather Service meteorologist has confirmed it. Weather conditions over time will become more favorable and satisfying. Victims that have been evacuated from their homes because of the wildfires were told to return with extreme caution. Trees have been marked with P1 and P2 meaning that they are dangerous. While interviewing Allison Brown, she said, “I could never imagine being forced to evacuate my home and let alone being in danger because of these wildfires. This is such a tragedy for the people in California.”

As of now, firefighters are fighting three major wildfires in California, The Campfire, Woolsey Fire, and Hill Fire. All of these wildfires have been life-changing to the victims of this disaster. While recently talking to Maya Salzman about this disaster, she said, “ It is so important to have firefighters risking their lives to help others in times like these.”

The Camp Fire wildfire is located in Butte County, California. So far a total of 130,000 acres have been burned. Fifty-two thousand people have been evacuated from their houses, and 5,615 personnel are fighting the fire. An overall total of about 8,817 structures have been destroyed because of the flames. Of that 8,817 number 7,600 are homes that have been demolished. There is an extremely high total of 1,385 shelters for the victims of this tragedy. When recently interviewing  Farheen Ilyas, she said, “I can’t believe this is happening in California and affecting so many families.”

The Woolsey Fire is taking place in Los Angeles County, Ventura County. Ninety-six thousand three hundred fourteen acres burned which is roughly the size of Denver. At first, two deaths have were confirmed since the wildfire began and three firefighters were injured. Since then, the death tolls have risen. As of now, at least 82 people have been declared dead since the start of these devastating wildfires. Three hundred seventy structures have been destroyed, and approximately 57,000 structures are in danger of potentially being damaged.

The Hill Fire is located in Ventura County, California. So far 4,531 acres have been burned. About 100 people were still unaccounted for statewide. The search officials are hoping that these people are still safe but with the wildfires still burning the number of deaths are expected to rise. Many rescue teams are still trying to help the victims of these wildfires and trying to return some of the lost victims back to their families.