California has been in a drought for a few years, bringing in many issues for the state, including making it very prone to wildfires. Over the past few years, there have been quite a few wildfires causing damage in California. It is not uncommon to hear about a wildfire in the news causing damage somewhere in the state. The fire season is typically in the fall, which is the driest time of year, right before the rain of the winter sets in. The fire season of 2018 so far, though, has been one of the destructive years on record, having over 7,500 fires and leaving over 1.6 million acres damaged.
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This bout of blazes is one of the deadliest in California history. As of Saturday, the death count was at about 75 so far, and there could be more found after the area is safe again. There are two main fires happening. One is the Camp Fire, which is in Northern California, and the other is the Woolsey Fire in Southern California. The vast majority of the deaths have been from the Camp Fire, while only a few have been claimed from the Woolsey Fire. The Woolsey Fire, as of this past weekend, has been 61% contained, while the Camp Fire has been 91% contained. On November 13th, a new fire called the Sierra Fire started to break out and had already gone through 150 acres after only two days. There is rain in the forecast for this week up in Northern California, which may help firefighters control the fire. This may complicate matters, though, in other ways. Finding any missing bodies will become a more complicated process, and the rain also creates the dangers of mudslides.
These fires have caused the evacuations of thousands of people and have damaged thousands of homes as well. Countless celebrities that we know and love have been moved out of their homes and may never see them how they were again. College campuses in the LA area were evacuated and are experiencing damage. Thousands of people are lost without homes to go back to. This is a situation that affects too many people to ignore. The Kardashians even dedicated their win at the People’s Choice Awards to those who have been affected by these fires.
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There is hope, though. Firefighters across the state have been working their hardest over these past few weeks to fight these strong, dangerous fires. With strong winds, though, this job has been difficult, but they are hoping that the recently calm weather will continue so they can further their progress on the fires. Some evacuees have been able to re-enter their homes, some of which only have minimal or no damage. The fire is definitely worse in some places than in others, and luckily not all areas have the same amount of destruction we hear about on the news.
As of right now, it is more of a waiting game. Firefighters are working, waiting for a time when the fires are easier to put out. While some have been able to return to their homes safely, others still have to wait to return to their homes and see the damage. There are quite a few unknowns for these people.
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Those who have been affected by these fires will be in our thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time.
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