Early start of the forest fire season: In the case of persistent drought and summer heat, there are many burns in western North America. In Canada, the military is also ready to provide support.
Vancouver / Sacramento – Due to the high risk of fire, the authorities have issued a “Red Flag” warning for northern California. Dry storms with lightning strikes could also exacerbate the situation, it said on Saturday.
Several fires have already caused severe damage in the region, benefiting from strong winds and drought. According to the forest authorities, the so-called “salt” fire destroyed more than two dozen houses by Saturday. Over 500 firefighters fought on this fire front alone to prevent the flames from spreading further.
Lightning triggers fire
The “lava” fire triggered by a lightning strike north of the village of Weed has spread over an area of almost 100 square kilometers, but the flames have so far been prevented from spreading to settlements. Thousands of people had to temporarily leave their homes as a precaution.
The extreme heat in western Canada has subsided, but persistent drought and continued high temperatures also favored many forest fires there. In the province of British Columbia alone, the authorities listed 174 fires on Saturday. The small town of Lytton, which had been almost completely destroyed by a rapidly spreading fire, had been hit worst there. A record temperature of 49.6 degrees Celsius had been measured there immediately beforehand.
More than 1000 people had to flee in a hurry on Thursday night. Authorities believe two people were killed in Lytton. At first it was too dangerous to send investigators to the location of the fire disaster, also because of toxic gases and smoke.
Canadian military on alert
The military in Canada is on alert over the threat of forest fires. The Department of Defense wanted to deploy an emergency force of 350 soldiers as well as a transport plane and two Chinook helicopters at a base in Edmonton, Alberta, to support the fire department if necessary. dpa
