Madre fire, one of at least a dozen in the state, has burned more than 50,000 acres in San Luis Obispo county.
A fast-growing wildfire in central California has become the largest in the state this year, surpassing the size of January’s wildfires that devastated parts of Los Angeles , as the flames spread in hot, windy The Madre fire had exploded to more than 50,000 acres by Thursday morning, after breaking out in San Luis Obispo county on Wednesday afternoon and tearing through grasslands as dry. Extreme heat has raised the fire risk for large portions of the state before the Fourth of July holiday.
Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for tiny communities near State Route 166 as the flames moved through hilly terrain toward the Carrizo Plain national monument. The region, which lies about 125 miles (200km) north-west of Los Angeles, contains vast grasslands that draw visitors in the spring to enjoy its wildflowers.
The fire was pushed by summer gusts that typically increase as the sun starts going down, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“The winds are pretty light during the day, but they do pick up pretty substantially in the afternoon and evening hours,” Kittell said. He said gusts could reach 40mph (64km/h) later in the day Thursday, posing new challenges for firefighters working in extreme heat: temperatures in the area were expected to climb to nearly 100F (37C) by the afternoon.
As of Thursday morning, the fire was at 5% containment, according to state’s wildfire agency, Cal Fire. The cause of the fire was not yet known
A helicopter drops water on the Madre fire on Thursday. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP
A spokesperson for Cal Fire told the San Luis Obispo Tribune that more than 300 first responders were battling the blaze
The Madre fire is one of at least a dozen blazes burning across California. Western states are bracing for a potentially explosive summer wildfire season due to a dry winter, followed by warm spring and summer temperatures that have dried out vegetation. Farther north in Oregon, which has been dealing with record-breaking early season heat , officials warned that a large wildfire in June “should come as a reminder to Oregonians to be ready”.
Firefighters and experts recently said that the US federal firefighting force is worryingly underprepared for the summer due to a series of changes ushered in by the Trump administration, including cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) – the agency that provides US weather monitoring – as well as staffing and budget reductions
Officials have urged residents to take precautions over the holiday weekend, a time when fireworks are notorious for starting fires.
“In California , human activities account for about 95% of all wildfire starts, often starting from preventable actions like improperly extinguished campfires, malfunctioning equipment, and fireworks,” the office of California governor, Gavin Newsom, said in a statement on Thursday.
News Contributed by the Guardian
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Firefighters scrambles to keep the Madre fire from crossing a dozer line as it makes a run along Highway 166 in San Luis Obispo county on Thursday. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP