Despite promises, California doesn’t know how many people died in record summer heat wave amid worst wildfires in U.S. history
The wildfires in California are the worst in U.S. history
California’s largest city, Los Angeles, may have escaped the recent blaze, but authorities have declared the Los Angeles and San Bernardino county fire departments No. 1 in the country
As hundreds of wildfires rage across Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned that the state will not escape the heat, saying climate change is exacerbating the infernos as California continues to burn.
Newsom called the wildfires, which killed at least 29 people so far, the most destructive infernos in modern U.S. history.
California authorities on Wednesday said the deadly wildfires, which have killed dozens of people and destroyed scores of homes, are the worst in U.S. history, after the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history killed 17 people in October.
While the new blazes in California took the lives of at least 29 people so far, authorities have deemed the Los Angeles and San Bernardino county fire departments No. 1 in the country. Authorities have also declared the Woolsey Fire, which began on Saturday, the deadliest in Los Angeles history.
In an interview with The Associated Press, California Governor Jerry Brown said climate change is to blame.
“I think we have to be very, very clear about climate change because it is a very clear driver of what is going on in the fires right now not only here, but around the world,” Brown said. “It’s a clear driver of what is happening in the weather system, but it’s a very easy thing to say.”
Last week, the governor called on those fighting the fires, including the federal government, to turn off fossil fuels from vehicles and power plants before the blazes are contained.
California now expects the most firefighting operations ever.
The state has declared a major disaster for the seven main fires that are breaking out across the region. The governor has set up a task force to combat them.
The biggest of the seven fires, in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, has now burned more than 25,000 acres and destroyed nearly 1,800 homes.
Firefighting efforts will center on three main fronts: fighting blazes that have reached the coast; stopping new blazes; and keeping water supplies flowing.
Firefighters who have been battling the
