California Gov. Asks Australia For Help As 560 Wildfires Blaze On With No End In Sight
California Governor Gavin Newsom is asking Australia for help as at least 560 wildfires blaze on with no end in sight. The hundreds of blazes have burned more than 900,000 acres, killing at least five people, and forcing the evacuation of more than 119,000 people. Earlier this week, Gov. Newsom declared a state of emergency as COVID-19 continues to spread, plus the wildfires which continue to carry on from Northern to Southern California.
Two of the biggest fires are the LNU Lightnight Complex (which is blazing in the Sonoma, Napa, Solano, and Lake counties and is now the second-largest fire in the state’s history) and the SCU Lightning Complex (blazing in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties and is now the fourth-biggest fire in state history). Another blaze, the CZU Lightning Fire, carries on in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, while another blazes near Vacaville, known as the Hennessey Fire.
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While help arrives from Canada and Australia, who’s had a massive wildfire outbreak not too long ago, officials say the hundreds of fires started with more than 12,000 dry lightning strikes during the current, historic heat wave happening across the state. Speaking on the fires, whose damage has now reached the size of Rhode Island, Newsom says, “We simply haven’t seen anything like this in many, many years. Climate change is real. If you are in denial about climate change, come to California.”
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