Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
This photo, taken Sunday, shows homes destroyed from Valley and Butte wildfires in California.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. (AP) — Drought-stricken California is in the midst of a deadly and destructive siege of wildfires, some exhibiting extreme behavior with what state officials describe as record rates of spread exceeding predictions of computer models. Here’s a look at the situation Tuesday:
NUMBER OF FIRES: 12, mostly in the northern coastal ranges and the Sierra Nevada.
TOTAL AREA OF FIRES: 721 square miles, more than half of it from the three most significant blazes.
NUMBER OF PEOPLE DISPLACED: 23,000 from two fires.
LOSSES: 720 homes in two fires, hundreds of other structures including businesses, barns, outbuildings and infrastructure.
STRUCTURES THREATENED: 15,400 at two fires.
CASUALTIES: One civilian dead; four firefighters injured; several people unaccounted for.
FIREFIGHTERS: More than 13,000.
NUMBER OF WILDFIRES IN THE STATE THIS YEAR: Approximately 6,000, or about 1,500 more than this time last year.
NUMBER OF FIRE STARTS EACH WEEK: Approximately 250.
Sources: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci.
