Thousands Evacuate as Wildfires Destroy Utah and Northern California

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Intense wildfires continued to burn in parts of the western United States on Sunday, leading to thousands of evacuations in Utah and Northern California as the fires collectively engulfed more than half a million acres.

The Dixie Fire in California has spread to more than 550,000 acres in four counties in the northern part of the state, and as of Sunday morning, 31 percent is under control. fire fever.

Fast moving in eastern Utah Parleys Canyon FireFiring on Saturday afternoon, it at least forced a quick evacuation. 6,000 houses, according to officials. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said Sunday’s “another tough fire day”, as the flame at least charred 1500 acres East of Salt Lake City and 0 percent contained.

Mr Cox said some of Utah’s firefighters have returned from wildfire duty in other states to fight the fire in Parleys Canyon.

NS Federal Emergency Management Agency He said on Sunday that he had accepted a request from officials in Utah to help cover the cost of fighting the fire. NS Utah American Red Cross He said 25 people remained in the bunker set up by the organization at a high school in Park City on Saturday night.

State fire officials said the fire started when a car sent sparks flying along a highway after a car. catalytic converter, a device that controls the exhaust emissions has failed.

Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement On Saturday, officials reported that they discovered two fires burning a mile apart along a highway in Parleys Canyon, and the fire quickly spread to a nearby mountain.

The department said the fire was continuing to the east and was advancing at a “fast pace”.

The sheriff of Summit County, which includes Parleys Canyon, said: excitement He said Saturday night that some residents refused to evacuate and that their decision put firefighters and other emergency workers in danger.

Saturday was a dry and sweltering day in parts of Utah. In Salt Lake City, the temperature reached 100 degrees and the humidity dropped to 13 percent. National Weather Service.

Some much-needed help for firefighters could be on the way this week. three wildfiresThe Parleys Canyon is the largest. Rain and thunderstorms are expected across much of the state between Tuesday and Thursday, officials said. National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.

In Northern California, the Dixie Fire had destroyed 1,120 buildings and threatened a further 14,838 buildings as of Sunday, officials said. Three firefighters suffered unspecified injuries, according to Cal Fire, who said the cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Flame largest recorded in the United States and the largest single-source wildfire in California history. Last year, lightning strikes ignited multiple wildfires in three national forests in California known as the August Complex, burning more than a million acres.

For more than a month, firefighters have been battling to put out the flames of the Dixie Fire, which destroyed the Gold Rush town earlier this month. Greenville, California, where Satellite photos before and after showed the destruction.

Thunderstorms were expected Sunday for the area where the Dixie Fire burned, a development that emergency responders say could hamper firefighting efforts if struck by lightning. Drought in the region, where temperatures can reach 100 degrees Celsius with less than 18 percent humidity, left the region particularly vulnerable to wildfires, officials said.

Although wildfires occur in the West every year, scientists are seeing the impact of climate change in the extreme heat waves that contributed to the intensity of the fires this summer. Prolonged periods of abnormally high temperatures are a sign of a changing climate, they say.



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