Record-breaking California wildfires surpass 4 million acres

SAN FRANCISCO — In a year that has already brought apocalyptic skies and smothering smoke to the West Coast, California set a grim new record Sunday when officials announced that the wildfires of 2020 have now scorched a record 4 million acres — in a fire season that is far from over.

The unprecedented figure — an area larger than the state of Connecticut — is more than double the previous record.

“The 4 million mark is unfathomable. It boggles the mind, and it takes your breath away,” said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.  “And that number will grow.”

Cal Fire said in a statement Sunday that there have been more than 8,200 wildfires since the start of the year that have burned “well over 4 million acres in California” or 6,250 square miles. The previous record was set two years ago when wildfires destroyed 1.67 million acres.

The fires of 2020 have killed 31 people, incinerated hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate.

Last month, a relentless heat wave hit the state that helped fuel the fires and caused so much air pollution that it seeped indoors, prompting stores across California to sell out of air purifiers.

Despite Sunday’s grim milestone, there were signs for optimism.

Powerful winds that had been expected to drive flames in recent days hadn’t materialized. Warnings of extreme fire danger expired Saturday morning as a layer of fog rolled in. Clearer skies allowed large air tankers to drop retardant after being sidelined by smoky conditions several days earlier.

“In certain areas, we were able to get quite a bit of aircraft in. So we really pounded, a couple different areas hard with aircraft,” Mclean said. “If the weather does what is predicted, we’re on that glide path I hope.”

A cooling trend is expected to slowly begin on Sunday. Long-range forecast models hinted at the possibility of rain early next week.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/30ueNZS