California fires: massive blazes spread as state strapped for resources – live

Wildfires have killed at least six peoplePrisons overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks and approaching firesFirefighters stretched thin as blazes grow rapidlyOpinion: The climate crisis has already arrived. Just look to California’s abnormal wildfiresSign up to our First Thing newsletter 3.00pm BST The Associated Press has an update on weather conditions in California that might affect the spread of the fires, and efforts to fight them, today:Although temperatures were predicted to ease slightly on Friday, they were also expected to be hot enough so that firefighters will not be able to count on cool evening weather aiding them. Erratic winds also could drive the fires unpredictably in multiple directions, state fire officials said.“There’s so much heat in these fires that they create their own wind … and they may blow in any direction, and very erratically,” said Daniel Berlant, an assistant deputy director with the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire. 2.25pm BST California’s raging wildfires have created a crisis at multiple state prisons, where there are reports of heavy smoke and ash making it hard to breathe, unanswered pleas for evacuation and concerns that the fire response could lead to further Covid-19 spread.A massive fire in the Vacaville area, north of San Francisco, has rapidly spread within miles of two state prisons, including one that holds terminally ill people, the elderly and the medically vulnerable. Related: ‘Severe inhumanity’: California prisons overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks and approaching fires Continue reading…
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