World

California wildfire, fueled by desert winds, forces evacuations

2023.11.01 00:02

5/5

© Reuters. A firefighter works to extinguish the Highland Fire, a wind driven wildfire near Aguanga, California, U.S., October 31, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake

2/5

By Omar Younis

TEMECULA, California (Reuters) -A Southern California wildfire fueled by desert winds burned 2,487 acres (1,010 hectares) and prompted evacuation orders for more than 4,000 people in Riverside County, officials said on Tuesday.

The Highland Fire nearly doubled in size from Monday night to Tuesday, blowing toward the west by Santa Ana winds. The seasonal phenomenon occurs when dry desert air blows toward the ocean, creating a fire hazard in Southern California.

The fire was 10% contained as of Tuesday night, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said, after crews attacked the blaze on the ground and aircraft dropped fuchsia-colored retardant.

Some 1,220 homes and 4,270 residents were under mandatory evacuation orders, with another 1,136 homes and 3,976 residents under evacuation warnings, Cal Fire spokesperson Thomas Shoots said.

Officials opened one evacuee center for people and another for animals, while those staying at a resort for recreational vehicles drove their campers to a Walmart (NYSE:) parking lot in Temecula about 15 miles (25 km) away.

Some people said they left the RV resort at the prodding of first responders, escaping flames that later entered the site.

“I had to grab dog food and basically just get in my van and leave,” said Barb Bommarito.

Robert Duke, 85, said people were uncertain about whether the evacuation was necessary.

“It was made mandatory with law-enforcement cars coming around with red and blue flashing lights and broadcasting … that we should all leave,” Duke said.

The cause of the fire was being investigated, Cal Fire said, adding that the fire was a continuing threat with several roads closed and evacuation orders in effect.

Southern California has had a mild fire year in 2023, after unusually heavy rainfall that included the first tropical storm to reach heavily populated areas in the state in 84 years.

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 96,848.95 2.03%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,299.51 4.88%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.11%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 245.64 5.94%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 645.37 4.26%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 1.35 13.87%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.409168 12.10%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 0.999454 0.17%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.980725 11.59%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,301.87 4.69%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.20328 8.50%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 39.66 7.38%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.50839 10.41%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 5.95 2.13%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000025 10.34%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 3,930.31 3.99%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 96,565.87 1.53%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 8.59 5.00%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 16.52 5.70%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 487.71 10.00%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 3,297.03 4.89%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 3.25 10.44%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000019 11.66%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 8.71 0.92%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 6.25 2.13%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 94.04 8.79%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 11.82 8.76%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 10.34 4.06%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,491.15 3.88%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.140704 6.79%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.08%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 10.68 7.92%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.184032 9.63%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.537201 6.85%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 27.72 9.67%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.20%
render-token
Render (RENDER) $ 7.38 7.48%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.147474 8.41%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.43 0.47%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 495.29 8.56%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 24.40 1.22%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.999886 0.19%
celestia
Celestia (TIA) $ 7.90 22.86%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.813741 6.79%
bonk
Bonk (BONK) $ 0.000044 14.34%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 3.66 3.82%
cosmos
Cosmos Hub (ATOM) $ 8.36 2.04%
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.040189 8.61%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 5.35 0.88%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 52.51 2.30%