California Wildfires Spread

The state has extended the closure of Yosemite National Park following the deaths of 6 people in Redding, CA.

Wildfires raging near Whiskeytown, Calif. At least five people have been killed as the wildfires have spread.CALFIRE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

Wildfires are rapidly spreading across California, forcing officials to close off Yosemite on Sunday for at least another week. Evacuations are being maintained for thousands of people farther north around Redding, where the death toll has reached 6. The most destructive fire so far has been the Carr Fire which has exploded to a whopping 90,000 acres after igniting from a small vehicle spark on July 23rd outside of Redding.

The firestorm has destroyed over 500 homes and displaced hundreds if not thousands of people. The latest tally showed at least 657 homes destroyed and another 145 damaged, with the fire having consumed 149 square miles. A state fire official has noted that the total might be hundreds more, making this one of the biggest firestorms California has ever seen.

Over the weekend the Carr Fire remained active but pushed mostly into rural areas north of Redding, which is 200 miles north of San Francisco, but the 92,000 residents of Redding are still being urged to evacuate as gusty winds and triple digit heat are still huge threats to the area.

“For Redding right now, it’s a pretty hopeless feeling,” said Easton Waterman, a 19-year-old college student who helped his family pack photographs and other precious possessions into a vehicle in case they have to leave. “No one knows what the fire is going to do, because it’s big and unpredictable.”

On Saturday, President Trump signed an emergency declaration requested by Governor Jerry Brown for federal assistance in the Redding-area firefighting efforts.

On top of the six reported deaths, the sheriffs department is also investigating seven missing persons reports, with 11 additional reports of missing people.