November 8th marks the start of some of the worst reported wildfires in the state of California. The fires began unexpectedly and continued to grow ferociously throughout the South and North of the state. The fires, Camp Fire (in the North) and Wolsey Fire (in the South), were both consuming land at a quick and alarming rate.
As of last Sunday, the fires up north had harmed about 150,000 acres of land while the fires down south harmed about 94,949 acres of land. The most affected areas in southern California include Thousand Oaks, Calabasas, and Malibu all located in Los Angeles and Ventura County. Up north, the affected areas include Palo Alto, Boulder Creek, Union City, and Concord located close to Butte County.
Both fires have affected families, their homes and endangered the lives of many. The accounted death toll for Camp Fire as of now is 77, with about 993 unaccounted people and Wolsey Fire has a death toll of three. The injured in the fire are all currently hospitalized with very severe burns and are all being taken care of. People who made it out of their home in time are also struggling to find a place to live. Mant have even resorted to camping in parking lots!
In addition to homelessness, the air quality in northern California has been deemed as the worst in the world currently. The AQI up north has increased from a norm of 25 to an average of 172. For perspective, India and China AQI currently sits around 200. These conditions have made it difficult for Californians to even step foot outside their homes.
Unfortunately, the fires up north are only about two-thirds contained and are expected to be fully contained by the end of November. The fires down south have been efficiently put out and are reportedly ninety-one percent contained and expected to be completely contained by the 22nd of November.
These unexpected fire have shocked the people of California, but they have not lost hope and they continue to help one another. In the town of Paradise, California a vigil was held for the victims of the wildfires. People brought pictures of family, friends, and pets who were affected and reflected and prayed for those who needed it.
President Trump has offered his support and federal funding to the state as well. He has been to Camp Fire to see the devastation caused by the fires. Trump has also gone down south and visited Malibu, CA, where he thanked the local officials and military assistance who stepped up to take charge of and protect those in trouble. Everyone is doing their part to help contain the fires. All people can do now is keep taking care of each other and hope that everyone’s the efforts will to pay off.
Family home burned down in Malibu Park, California picture taken by Stephan Tso