Over 4 million acres burned in California wildfires

The state of California has been hit by a terrible disaster, more than 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares) have been scorched to the ground by wildfires. Hundreds of homes have been incinerated and 30 people died in this terrible disaster.

The firemen are relentlessly trying to turn the tide and extinguish the flame, but it seems that, because of the strong winds that blow on the western side of the fire, this dire situation may not end soon.

So far, flames have ravaged large tracts of land and it has been reported that 17,000 firefighters are trying to put the flames down all around the state. What makes things worse is the possibility of flames spreading even further. The outskirts of San Francisco are in danger, forecasters have already sent a warning to the residents of that area.

The hills of Napa and Sonoma counties are particularly threatened, the winds up to 30 mph (48 kph) may spread fires even further, damaging or destroying more than 28,000 homes.

Paul Gullixon, a spokesman for Sonoma County expressed his concerns:

“It’s a time of nervousness.”

Billy See, an assistant chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection added:

“It’s going to be a big firefight for us over the next 36 hours.”

Calistoga, a town in Napa County is already receiving reinforcements. Its proximity (70 miles/110 kilometers) to San Francisco has raised concerns, it is obvious that fires are getting closer to the city by the day.

Gov. Gavin Newsom stated that California will invest all the available resources to put the fires down. He has recently visited fire-ravaged Napa County and saw the damage that fires did firsthand.

While standing next to a burned-out school, he stated:

“I’ve got four young kids in elementary school and I can’t imagine for the children and parents, the families that may be seeing these images, what’s going through your minds.”

California Fire Chief Thom Porter is aware of the threat that looms over the state. He said:

“It’s likely that over the next day or two we will crest the 4-million-acre mark. The biggest year before this year was 1.54 million. We are dwarfing that previous record and we have a lot of season left to go.”

So far, 80,000 people were under evacuation orders and it seems that more evacuations are possible. The state has asked the people to remain vigilant and stay out of critical areas, there is much work to be done to contain this terrible disaster.