One California Fire - The August Complex - Is Now One Million Acres In Area, And Still Growing
A single wildfire in California has reached the stunning size of more than 1 million acres, becoming the first “gigafire” in the state in decades.
As of Monday morning, the August Complex Fire in the northern part of the state had burned at least 1,002,000 acres and was 54 percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). The area that has burned since the fire ignited on August 16 is larger than Rhode Island and spans seven counties.
The blaze is just one of almost two dozen major wildfires in the Golden State right now in what has already been an extraordinary year for these sweeping infernos. Across the state, fires have burned a record-shattering 4 million acres so far in 2020. “The 4 million mark is unfathomable. It boggles the mind, and it takes your breath away,” Scott McLean, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, told the Associated Press on October 4. “And that number will grow.”
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Link to tweet
Forecasts show that conditions remain ripe to spread wildfires. For the August Complex, Cal Fire is expecting high temperatures and low humidity levels, but lower wind speeds. And autumn is the season for high winds like the Diablo Winds in Northern California that can gust up to 70 mph. As these winds pick up, they could spread the flames further. In addition to the immense challenge of containing such a huge blaze burning in the wilderness, firefighters have to contend with the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing crews to take infection control precautions as they try to keep the flames in check. California’s firefighting efforts also rely on prison labor, with almost 200 inmate fire crews. Inmates are paid between $2 and $5 a day, plus $1 per hour when fighting a fire. However, Covid-19 has spread in prisons, forcing the state to release some inmates to relieve overcrowding and to quarantine others. That has left the state scrambling to make up the labor shortfall.
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https://www.vox.com/2020/10/5/21502397/august-complex-gigafire-wildfire-california-record