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Wildfires near Castaic, elsewhere in California spur evacuations amid heat wave : NPR


Firefighters walk Wednesday during a wildfire in Castaic, Calif.

Ringo HW Chiu / AP


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Firefighters walk Wednesday during a wildfire in Castaic, Calif.

Ringo HW Chiu / AP

CASTAIC, California. —California wildfires flared Wednesday in rural areas, racing through bone-dry brush and prompting residents to evacuate as the state swelters under a heatwave that could last well past Labor Day.

Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency with temperatures expected to be 10 to 20 degrees higher than usual and urged people to help reduce their electricity use by turning their thermostats to 85 degrees. if they are not at home for the weekend. .

The Route Fire in Castaic in northwest Los Angeles County has raged through about 4,625 acres of hills containing scattered homes. Interstate 5, a major north-south route, was closed by a fire that consumed hundreds of acres in just a few hours.

Media reports showed a wall of fire moving uphill and smoke rising thousands of meters into the air while planes dumped water from nearby Lake Castaic. There were no immediate reports of damage to buildings but a mobile home park with 94 apartments was evacuated.

An elementary school was also evacuated. Temperatures in the area hit 107 degrees and gusts of up to 17 mph, forecasters said.

Eight firefighters were treated for heat-related problems, six of which were taken to the hospital, but all are in good condition, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Deputy Superintendent Thomas Ewald said.

Ewald said at a news conference on Wednesday night there will be more injuries as crews face extreme heat that is expected to last into next week.

“Wearing heavy firefighting gear, carrying packages, hoses, swinging tools, the people out there just know how to beat,” he said.

Wind whips embers from a hot spot Wednesday during a wildfire in Castaic, California.

Ringo HW Chiu / AP


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Ringo HW Chiu / AP


Wind whips embers from a hot spot Wednesday during a wildfire in Castaic, California.

Ringo HW Chiu / AP

Aircraft will continue to drop water and flame retardant on the fire overnight, and winds can shift northward during the night, causing the fire to re-ignite on its own, Ewald said.

Ewald also said there could be other fires in LA County as the intense heat continues. Bulldozers to cut the fire pits will be deployed around the county on Thursday as a precaution, he added.

“This is the fire that’s burning right now. But we have 4,000 square miles of LA County that we have to look at for tomorrow,” he said.

Another fire burned at least four buildings, including a home, and forced residents to evacuate in the Dulzura area in eastern San Diego County near the Mexican border. It quickly grew to more than 1,600 acres, authorities said, and issued evacuation orders for at least 400 homes.

Highway 94 was closed. Officials said the Mountain Empire Unified School District will be closed on Thursday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that the Tecate port of entry to Mexico closed three hours early on Wednesday night due to a fire and will not reopen until conditions improve to ensure “the safety of the public.” Visitors can continue to use the 24-hour Otay Mesa intersection.

The Route fire burned Wednesday on closed Interstate 5 in Castaic, California.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP


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The Route fire burned Wednesday on closed Interstate 5 in Castaic, California.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

No injuries were immediately reported, but there were “multiple close calls” as residents rushed to flee, said Captain Thomas Shoots with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

“We received many 911 calls from people who couldn’t evacuate” because their home was surrounded by flames, Shoots told. San Diego Union-Tribune.

The National Weather Service said many of the state’s valleys, foothills, mountains and desert areas remained at high fire risk due to low humidity and high temperatures, setting multiple records for the day. The hottest days are expected to be Sunday and Monday.

Wildfires have raged this summer across the Western states. California’s biggest and deadliest fire this year broke out in late July in Siskyou County, near the Oregon state line. It killed four people and destroyed much of the small community on the Klamath River.

Climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the past three decades and will continue to make extreme weather and wildfires more frequent and destructive, scientists say. Across the American West, a 22-year super-drought has deepened so much that in 2021 the region is now in its driest in at least 1,200 years.



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