Three Californian wildfires that ignited in the past week were seen from space with satellite imagery as the flames spread to nearly 105,000 acres.
A map from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) shows there are 17 active incidents as fires burn across the state. The fires range in size from 20 acres to more than 400,000. Flames ignited as recently as this week for some of the fires, while with others firefighters have worked for months to suppress the blazes.
Three fires that started in the past week were seen producing smoke plumes visible from space, according to extreme weather chaser Colin McCarthy.
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“Sobering satellite imagery of the wildfire outbreak rapidly escalating across Southern California. This is getting bad,” McCarthy posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday evening.
Fires depicted in the time-lapse video were the Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties, the Line Fire in San Bernardino County and the Bridge Fire in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.
The Airport Fire
The Airport Fire started in Trabuco Canyon in Orange County on Monday afternoon when public works crews were working to dissuade public access to a fire-sensitive area, KABC-TV in Los Angeles reported.
Firefighting crews immediately began an aggressive attack when the fire was only 7 acres, the Orange County Fire Authority said, but hot, dry conditions have spurred the flames to more than 22,000 acres, according to the most recent update from the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA). Despite the crews’ best efforts, the fire is zero percent contained.
One of the biggest threats posed by the flames was to an antenna farm atop Santiago Peak. OCFA Captain Augie Romo told Newsweek that crews addressed the encroaching flames through a “backfire” strategy, in which they conducted a controlled burn around the antenna farm to eliminate any fuels before the fire could reach it.
The Line Fire
The Line Fire ignited last Thursday near the San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California. The blaze has since grown to more than 34,000 acres and is only 14 percent contained. It has put thousands and thousands of structures at risk, including single- and multifamily homes and commercial buildings.
The fire is so severe that California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency for San Bernardino County on Saturday, unlocking additional state resources and personnel to assist firefighters and securing federal assistance to support the response to the blaze.
The cause is under investigation, CAL FIRE said.
The Bridge Fire
The Bridge Fire ignited on Sunday and has since grown to nearly 48,000 acres. It is zero percent contained.
Flames have grown so severe that officials have issued mandatory evacuation orders for around two dozen evacuation zones in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties because of an “immediate threat to life.”
“The Angeles National Forest responded to a brush fire at around 2:30 p.m. on (9/8),” CAL FIRE said about the fire in its situation summary. “Additional air and ground resources were requested in response to the fire, which triggered several road closures and evacuations. High winds and low humidity were aiding the spread of the fire.”
The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
