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Dramatic footage shows the moment a helicopter rescued two stranded firefighters from advancing wildfires in California. 'Had it not been for that helicopter, those firefighters would certainly have perished,' the Sonoma county sheriff, Mark Essick, said. Firefighters have been battling blazes that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced tens of thousands to flee across the state since 15 August
Donald Trump has issued a major disaster declaration as deteriorating weather conditions threaten to spark new wildfires in California, where firefighters have been battling some of the largest wildfires on record for the past week.
Trump’s declaration will release federal assistance for the state, with governor Gavin Newsom saying it will also help people in counties affected by the fires with crisis counselling, housing and other social services.
Wildfires in California have killed at least six people and forced tens of thousands from their homes, with few signs of reprieve in sight, as firefighting resources strain under the vastness of dozens of infernos raging across the state.
More than 771,000 acres have burned so far, an area greater than the state of Rhode Island, California’s governor Gavin Newsom said at a press conference Friday.
Sticking with the Associated Press, it has spoken to some residents affected by the fires:
Smoke and ash billowing from the fires have fouled the air throughout California’s scenic central coast and in San Francisco. The fires have destroyed at least 175 buildings, including homes, and threatened tens of thousands more.
Tim and Anne Roberts had gone to the beach with their two children on Monday, in order to avoid the smoke at their home in Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz county. They packed a change of clothes, their children’s school supplies and their passports, just in case.
The good news for Brookdale resident Larissa Eisenstein was that her five chickens, Kelly and the Nuggets, had been safely relocated into a stranger’s yard in a neighboring community.
The chicken evacuation came a day after Eisenstein, a Silicon Valley tech worker, was forced to leave them behind during an overnight evacuation. She fled with her cats Mochi and Mini, driving from one hotel to the next only to find they were full before landing in a safe place for some rest.
We are wrapping up the liveblog for the day. Thanks for staying with us.
Santa Cruz county is asking that all visitors and tourists occupying hotels, motels and vacation rentals leave the county immediately to free up space for evacuees.
Hundreds of fires are raging across California, forcing tens of thousands of residents – who were already facing blackouts and the coronavirus pandemic – to flee their homes. The flames, sparked by lightning and stoked by a searing heatwave and ferocious winds, have been moving quickly, overwhelming the state’s firefighters and first responders.
“It’s kind of an overwhelming fire siege,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.
Cluster of wildfires in Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties cover an estimated 46,225 acres
Lake fire in southern California has burned more than 21,000 acres
Three wild fires and more than 10,000 acres are currently burning out of control around the San Francisco Bay area, prompting officials to issue evacuation orders for residents living near the blazes.
Gov. Newsom said today that he has asked three states — Arizona, Nevada and Texas — to provide hundreds of fire engines to help contain the flames.
Evacuation Order expanded to include all areas west of County Road 306 west to Mendocino County line. Full length of County from Tehama County line south to Colusa County line. #GlennCounty#AugustComplexpic.twitter.com/AlAizoPraM
Wildfires in northern California have made the air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area the worst in the world.
As fires blaze through eight of the nine counties surrounding San Francisco, smoke is drifting across the region and light ash falls from the sky.
It’s raining ash in California, forcing us to wear a different kind of mask than we wear for the pandemic when we go buy the generator we need for either rolling blackouts or preemptive outages so we can work from home if we haven’t been evacuated or our house hasn't burned down
What it’s like to live in California right now.
My car was JUST washed and all of this is ash from the wildfires surround us. ITS LITERALLY RAINING ASHES!!!! pic.twitter.com/XB4iLaG9l5
Large wildfires can heat air so much that huge clouds develop and in strong winds these can rotate and sometimes produce a tornado
A wildfire in northern California spawned at least one fire tornado – or “firenado” – on Saturday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning as the state continues to endure a heatwave and wildfires.
“Extremely dangerous fire behavior noted on the #LoyaltonFire! Rotating columns and potential for fire whirls,” NWS Reno tweeted on Saturday.
Firefighters battle to contain blaze before temperatures rise
Fire in Angeles national forest produces vast plume of smoke
A huge wildfire has prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles, with firefighters hoping to rein in the blaze before temperatures spike later on Thursday.
The Lake fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon in dense forest land in the Lake Hughes area of the Angeles national forest, some 60 miles (97km) north of downtown Los Angeles.
Thousands of people in California were under evacuation order after a wildfire in mountains east of Los Angeles exploded in size and forced crews to battle flames in triple-digit heat.
The Apple fire in Riverside county consumed more than 31 sq miles (about 80 sq km) of dry brush and timber, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection.
Thousands of residents in southern California were forced to evacuate as a wildfire in mountains east of Los Angeles exploded in size. The 'Apple fire' burned 60sq km of dry brush and timber after two blazes converged on Friday. Firefighters continue to battle the fire, with dangerously hot weather conditions forecast to carry on
Fire explodes in size as crews battle the flames in triple-digit heat in mountains east of Los Angeles
Thousands of people were under evacuation orders Sunday after a wildfire in mountains east of Los Angeles exploded in size as crews battled the flames in triple-digit heat.
The fire, dubbed the Apple Fire by local firefighters, was straddling Riverside and San Bernardino counties and consumed more than 23sq miles (about 60sq km) of dry brush and timber, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Footage shows large flames shooting into sky from mountains above city of Xichang
Eighteen firefighters and one forestry guide have died while fighting a huge forest fire in south-western China.
State television footage showed flames shooting into the sky from the mountains above the city of Xichang in Sichuan province, turning the sky orange. Heavy clouds of smoke billowed above the buildings and roads of the city, which has a population of about 700,000.
Areas of Australia have burnt during the recent bushfire season that used to be too wet to burn. In this first episode of The Frontline, a new series that shows how everyday Australians are already experiencing the climate crisis, we go inside the new fire zone
Without urgent action, rising sea levels by end of century could leave cities under water
A series of detailed maps have laid bare the scale of possible forest fires, floods, droughts and deluges that Europe could face by the end of the century without urgent action to adapt to and confront global heating.
An average one-metre rise in sea levels by the end of the century – without any flood prevention action – would mean 90% of the surface of Hull would be under water, according to the European Environment Agency.
The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, says the Australian state has experienced “another difficult day” as multiple emergency fires burned across its south-east.
Huge fires to the south smother city with smoke amid weather forecast for heatwave and searing temperatures as Scott Morrison prepares to address National Press Club today. Follow live news and latest updates
From Tuesday night. A lot of ACT residents are comparing this fire to the devastating 2003 blaze.
Just a reminder of where we’re at. On Monday, a defence helicopter landed in the Namadgi national park, south of Canberra, and accidentally sparked what authorities have called the city’s “most serious” bushfire threat since the city’s devastating 2003 fires.
Tuesday saw dramatic images of the fire approaching Canberra’s southern suburbs, but conditions eased throughout the evening and the fire was downgraded from emergency level to watch and act just before midnight.