Flames started on Wednesday (6) morning, when the region was under red alert due to the advance of strong winds and low humidity
One reduced more than 100 homes to ashes and threatened more than 11,000 buildings, after its devastating passage through the south of the American state of . An improvement in weather conditions, however, gave firefighters a break this Friday (8). The Mountain Fire destroyed about 8,300 hectares in just 48 hours in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles. According to preliminary information, the fire destroyed 132 houses and damaged another 88. More than 11,000 buildings were threatened, and the flames have already injured five people, according to firefighters. Robin Wallace told how the home he grew up in was consumed in minutes. “We were hoping to go back to get some things, but we couldn’t. In the afternoon, everything was destroyed. It was very fast.”
Linda Fefferman, who managed to escape the flames with her husband and three of their five pets, recounted her stressful escape to local media minutes before her home was consumed by the inferno. “It was scary,” he said. “We saw [de um estacionamento] the smoke, probably our house burning. So far, we have counted between 14 and 15 [casas destruídas] on our street,” commented Fefferman, who says she was not prepared to see the ashes of what was her home. “Emotionally I’m not ready. I’m going little by little […] When you lose everything, your mind kind of goes with it.”
The flames started on Wednesday morning, when the region was under red alert due to the advance of powerful winds and low humidity. California experienced two years of a lot of rain, which promoted the growth of grass that now, in the face of drought, heat and winds, becomes the ideal fuel for the rapid spread of fire. Authorities issued thousands of evacuation orders and warnings in the region, where around 30,000 people live.
Threat
Weather conditions improved this Friday morning, opening a window for the more than 2,400 firefighters fighting, from air and land, to control this dangerous fire. According to authorities, the enormous effort only managed to contain 7% of the fire. The National Weather Service (NWS) reported this morning that, although the wind has died down a little, humidity levels remain very low in the region.
“The action of the fire has moderated due to the decrease in winds”, summarized the fire department. However, it warned that “the fire continues to be a threat to critical infrastructure”. “It is burning in steep and rugged terrain, with dry and receptive combustible material, which makes containment work difficult.” California Governor Gavin Newsom visited the affected communities yesterday and declared a state of emergency in the hardest-hit area of Ventura.
Published by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from AFP
