The flames of the Valley fire continue to rage across California due to drought and high temperatures, forcing authorities to declare a state of emergency in four counties.
The causes of the proliferation of wildfires such as the Valley fire — the blaze currently affecting northern California, in the United States — have been attributed to the drought that has been gripping the American state for four years and to the record temperatures of this summer. The Valley fire broke out on Saturday 12 September, 80 kilometres from Sacramento, the capital of California. It spread at an extremely rapid rate and by Sunday night had grown to cover more than 20,000 hectares, swallowing up several small towns in Lake County, including Middletown. By Tuesday 15 September it had reached 27,000 hectares, forcing the evacuation of 13,000 people.
On 13 September, California's governor, Jerry Brown, declared a state of emergency in Lake and Napa counties due to the flames that had destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of residents to evacuate. On Friday 11 September, a state of emergency had already been declared in Amador and Calaveras counties.
Cal Fire, the Californian fire protection agency, stated that the Valley fire is one-third contained. It also confirmed reports that the flames had claimed one life and injured four of the more than two thousand firefighters attempting to extinguish them.
Resources are beginning to run short as California is simultaneously battling several disasters of this kind. The Butte fire broke out on Wednesday 9 September and, thanks to the efforts of 4,000 firefighters, has been 40 per cent contained. It has burned around 30,000 hectares, forced 10,000 people to leave their homes and destroyed more than 400 buildings.
But this pales in comparison with the most extensive blaze currently threatening the state. The so-called Rough fire broke out on 31 July as a result of a lightning storm and has scorched 55,000 hectares in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. Three thousand firefighters have managed to contain only a third of the flames, which have caused the evacuation of Kings Canyon National Park. There are even fears that the flames could consume the park's giant sequoias, symbols of the park and of California, which are between 1,800 and 2,700 years old.
The fires in California in July alone cost the state 200 million dollars (180 million euros).
Translated by Francesca Clemente
