An estimated 26,000 people have been evacuated from their homes to avoid the rapidly spreading wildfires in northern California, as hundreds of firefighters battle the blazes in extreme heat.
Firefighters lined roads to prevent flames from reaching homes, while helicopters dropped water to extinguish a rapidly spreading wildfire in northern California, officials said.
The Thompson Fire, which broke out at noon on July 2 in Butte County, 70 miles north of Sacramento, California, has created a huge plume of smoke that can be seen from afar as it spread to more than 5 square miles.
More than a dozen other fires, most of them small, are burning across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). On the afternoon of July 3, a new fire forced a small number of evacuations in the densely populated Simi Valley, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the Basin Fire, the largest so far, has burned 22 square miles of Sierra National Forest in eastern Fresno County. Firefighters have only contained 26 percent of the fire.
Cal Fire statistics show that as of the morning of July 3, there were 2,934 wildfires in California, burning up to 565 square kilometers. In response to the above situation, the California state government issued a red warning of fire risk due to the weather. Pacific Electric and Gas Company cut off power to ensure safety in many areas of 10 counties. Many places declared a state of emergency and set up centers for people to evacuate. The evacuation zones on July 3 expanded to the foothills and rural areas outside the city, providing temporary shelter for about 20,000 people.
California is experiencing a severe heat wave. The heat wave is forecast to spread from north to south this week, mainly affecting the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys as well as the southern deserts. Sacramento has issued an extreme heat warning until the evening of July 7, with temperatures expected to reach 105 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to the Communist Party of Vietnam Electronic Newspaper
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