CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.
Photo: The remains of a burned home in Berryessa Highlands on Sept. 21, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters
October 5, 2020 (San Diego) - California surpassed a staggering milestone Sunday: more than four million acres have now burned in a record-defying fire season still far from over. That’s four Rhode Islands, three-and-a-half Grand Canyon National Parks, and a little more than one Connecticut.
It’s also more than double the 1.98 million acres burned in 2018, California’s previous modern-day record.
- Scott McLean, a Cal Fire spokesman: “The 4 million mark is unfathomable. It boggles the mind, and it takes your breath away.”
Also unfathomable: the size of the monstrous August Complex fire, which at 970,563 acres and growing dwarfs every other fire in recorded California history, none of which have passed the 500,000-acre mark. The massive conflagration gained steam Saturday amid gusty winds, forcing additional evacuations even as officials fear it could merge with the deadly Zogg Fire.
- Kale Casey, public information officer for a team assigned to the August Complex's north zone: “Nobody wants them to merge. We have every plan in place for them not to merge. But it’s 2020, and time will tell.”
Meanwhile, firefighters over the weekend made progress on the Glass Fire, which has damaged at least 17 wineries and destroyed nearly 300 homes, establishing it as the most destructive blaze to confront California's famed Wine Country. More than 215 other wineries and nearly 100,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation or evacuation warnings.
Northern California is expected to see cooler weather, higher humidity and rain later in the week—which could help soothe fire-ravaged areas, tamp down flames and bring relief to residents choked by unhealthy air quality.
But rain brings problems, too — namely, the ability to poison California’s water supply with dangerous chemicals from burned buildings, trees and land, CalMatters' Rachel Becker reports. About two-thirds of the state’s water supply flows from forests susceptible to burning.
- Kevin Bladon, a forest ecohydrology professor at Oregon State University: “From a water perspective, this is just when the problems are all about to begin — when we put the fire out. … We can see effects (on water) persist for decades.”
CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.
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