Californians already struggling with rolling blackouts and sweltering heat are confronting the next crises tied to extreme weather: wildfires and thick haze choking the air. More than 360 blazes are burning across the state, spurring evacuations in Santa Cruz County and near wine country in the northern part of the state. Smoke blanketed San Francisco Wednesday, parked cars were dusted with ash and air-quality warnings were in effect throughout the Bay Area. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency as record-breaking temperatures continue to bake the region and resources are stretched.
“We are experiencing fires the likes of which we haven’t seen in many, many years,” Newsom said at a press briefing Wednesday.
For California, the severe conditions are coming relatively early in its hot, dry wildfire season, portending difficult months ahead as the prospect of bigger blazes loom — at the same time the state is dealing with a pandemic that has killed more than 11,000 residents. Its travails add to 2020’s global tally of extremes and offer a glimpse into the future of a climate-changed world. While several of California’s large fires in recent years have been caused by high winds and utility equipment, many of the recent blazes were tied to lightning strikes and the extreme weather.
“Dry lightning strikes are hitting everywhere,” Lynette Round, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said in an interview Wednesday. “The hot weather has also been tough on firefighters, and it’s been tough to keep up with all these little fires.”
By Wednesday, a blaze in Napa and Sonoma counties had stretched to more than 46,000 acres, prompting residents to flee. Cal Fire issued evacuation orders late Tuesday in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, where a fire caused by lightning has burned 10,000 acres. In Calaveras County, a fire spread over 1,500 acres and was 10% contained. More blazes broke out in Glenn County and Tehama County.