SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Editor's note: This story is from 2020. The latest on California's wildfires can be found here.
Crews continue to battle battle wildfires across the state of California.
As of Thursday Sept. 24, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy estimates over three million acres in California have burned from nearly 8,000 wildfires. In 2020, five wildfires — the August Complex Fire, SCU Lightning Complex Fire, LNU Lightning Complex Fire, North Complex Fire, and Creek Fire — have moved into the top 10 of largest California wildfires of all time.
The fires Cal Fire is working on are listed on a map HERE.
The maps below are best viewed on a desktop computer.
Google has a crisis map focusing on wildfires and road closures:
National Interagency Fire Center live map (it might take a few seconds for the fires to show up on the map):
Mapping company ArcGIS shows hotspots.
WILDFIRE PREPS
According to Cal Fire, in 2019, California wildfires burned just under 260,000 acres from 7,860 incidents. Over 700 structures were damaged or destroyed and three people were killed. This follower two years of some of the “deadliest and most destructive wildfires” in California history.
If you live in a wildfire-prone zone, Cal Fire suggests creating a defensible space around your home. A defensible space is an area around a building in which vegetation and other debris is completely cleared. At least 100 feet is recommended.
The Department of Homeland Security suggests assembling an emergency kit that has important documents, N95 respirator masks, supplies to grab with you if you’re forced to leave at a moment’s notice. The agency also suggests signing up for local warning system notifications and know your community’s evacuation plans to best prepare yourself and your family in cases of wildfires.
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GO IN-DEPTH
In California, fires are burning more intensely than ever before. Megafires destroy entire neighborhoods. Some of the deadliest fires have been caused by our own electric grid, but all fires are burning worse because of climate change and an unhealthy forest landscape. The only way out? Scientists say we need to burn our forests more.
Visit http://www.firepowermoney.com for an even deeper look at the crisis that eventually will impact every person in the United States. In response to the series, a Federal judge demanded PG&E justify why it’s spending money to influence state politics and not using the money to improve the safety of its power grid instead.