More than 500 firefighters are struggling today to contain a fast-growing wildfire encompassing 1,500 acres in Sonoma County, California, that began Sunday morning.
Though the forward progress of the fire slowed throughout the night, the fire was only 20 percent contained Monday morning. The fire started at 10:50 a.m. Sunday in a rural area north of San Francisco, the Los Angeles Times reported.
About 90 people in 36 homes were under evacuation orders or advisories yesterday, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Paul Lowenthal said. There are no injuries or structural damage reported.
Firefighters expect conditions to worsen today with strong winds and temperatures in the high 90s. They have had limited access to the fire, with flames fueled by steep, grassy hillsides with pockets of oak.The state's five-year drought has left vegetation extremely dry.
Lowenthal said the fire is a threat to the Geysers geothermal field - the largest in the world.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. It is the 10th major California wildfire this month. A separate fire in Santa Rosa burned five to seven acres Sunday in Annadel State Park, according to CBS San Francisco. No evacuations were necessary, and firefighters had the blaze contained by mid-afternoon.
From: usnews
EmoticonEmoticon