The Carr Fire near Redding has officially been deemed the sixth worst wildfire in California’s history, with over 1,000 homes destroyed and at least 6 lives lost. It began on July 23, sparked by the mechanical failure of a vehicle, and has already torched more than 121,000 acres. It was 35% contained as of Wednesday night.
It is not an isolated incident. Over a dozen other wildfires are currently burning across the Golden State. Gov. Jerry Brown addressed the devastation this week with a grim warning that there was likely more to come.
“The more serious predictions of warming and fires to occur later in the century, 2040 or 2050, they’re now occurring in real time,” he said. “People are doing everything they can, but nature is very powerful and we’re not on the side of nature. We’re fighting nature with the amount of material we’re putting in the environment, and that material traps heat. And the heat fosters fires.”
More than 16,000 firefighters have been dispatched to battle the blazes. California is also receiving help from a number of neighboring states.
For the latest updates on California’s wildfires, visit the CalFire website.