The fire broke out since the sixth of July and is difficult to control. “Not only is this the biggest fire this year,” reporter Marieke de Vries tells us. News & Co.. “But also the most severe and extreme.”
Climate change
A spokesperson for the Forestry Department said the fire is so large that it disrupts winds and the atmosphere, among other things, causing the blazes to alter the weather. Normally, the weather and wind determine what the flames do, but that seems to be the other way around now. Towering clouds of hot air, smoke, and moisture create tornadoes of lightning and fire. When those clouds explode, the mass decreases and spreads over a larger area, resulting in new fires.
Wildfires are more common on the West Coast of the United States, but the extent of this fire is rare. According to experts, these types of intense fires will become more frequent as a result of climate change. Last month, the United States was still suffering from a severe drought and heat wave.
160 homes have been destroyed since the fire broke out. The end is not yet in sight, and putting out the fire seems to be an impossible task for the fire brigade, who already had to withdraw at once. One firefighter was missing, but later found. As far as is known, there were no deaths.
