Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in Northern California after fires burned through more than 350,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.
The fires, which have left at least five dead and over 30 people injured, were started by lightning, Cal Fire spokesman Steve Kaufmann said.
There were approximately 12,000 lightning strikes which started approximately 585 fires in the state over the past week. A total of 1.1 million acres have burned in the state.
Cal Fire has deployed over 2,400 engines, or 96 percent of its fleet, according to an announcement by Cal Fire Monday. Over 14,000 firefighters are on the front lines. Cal Fire is still struggling to contain some of the larger blazes in California.
The fire east of San Jose is 15 percent contained and the fire stretching from Napa to Yolo County is 25 percent contained.
Evacuations have impacted more than 100,000 Californians even though some orders to vacate are lifting. As the state shelters over 2,000 evacuees, coronavirus is a top concern. More than half are at “non-congregate” sites, such as hotels, to maintain social distancing.
The coronavirus remains a chief concern among the 2,000 evacuees sheltered by the state. More than half are sheltered at “non-congregate” zones to maintain proper Center for Disease Control guidelines.
Air quality throughout the region remains unhealthy and state officials recommend people should remain indoors if at all possible.
On Monday, Aug. 24, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that wildfire survivors are now able to register for federal financial assistance through disasterassistance.gov.
