While the presidential election was the big national news story this week, a major natural disaster has gone under the radar: southern California’s Mountain Fire.
The enormous blaze has burned at least 19,643 acres, destroyed homes, forced the evacuation of residents, and blanketed cities like Santa Barbara in shrouds of smoke, according to California Governor Gavin Newsom. Newsom recently proclaimed Ventura County — north of Los Angeles — in a state of emergency.
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“This is a dangerous fire that’s spreading quickly and is threatening lives,” Newsom said in a statement. “California has mobilized state resources, including personnel, engines and aircraft from CAL FIRE and Cal OES, to protect communities as our fire and emergency response teams work around the clock to combat this fire. Stay safe and remain alert for instructions from local authorities as dangerous fire weather conditions continue.”
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State officials advise those looking for the latest information to visit the CAL FIRE website (fire.ca.gov), which includes the latest details on warnings and evacuation warnings. CAL FIRE includes updates on all California wildfires, of which there are 10 listed as of Friday, though many of them are nearly fully contained. The website includes detailed maps of the fires’ paths, the number of acres they’re burning, the causes when known, which fire departments are battling them, and the most recent updates, which include road closures and summaries of the fires’ situations.
Of the Mountain Fire, the website notes, “The fire is burning in steep, rugged terrain, with dry and receptive fuels, which have challenged containment efforts. Fire activity moderated due to the decrease in winds over the fire. The fire continued to back in areas where it had not been tied into control lines.”
As of Friday afternoon, “The fire remains a threat to critical infrastructure. Islands of unburned fuel will continue to burn within the fire footprint.”