Aug. 27 (UPI) — Hundreds of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes in California have burned more than 1.32 million acres as of Wednesday, fire authorities said.
Cal Fire said in an update that more than 15,000 firefighters are working to combat some 700 wildfires in northern California that have resulted in seven deaths and destroyed 1,700 structures.
The agency said that a strong marine layer has returned and helped raise relative humidity and lower temperatures but gusty winds of 15-20 mph were also expected and can make firefighting more difficult.
The largest of the active fires, the SCU Lightning Complex has burned 365,772 acres in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties and was 25% contained as of Wednesday, according to Cal Fire.
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It has resulted in five injuries, destroyed 31 structures and damaged six others.
The LNU Lightning Complex Fire, the most destructive of the blazes, has burned 357,046 acres in Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solo and Solano counties and was 33% contained on Wednesday.
The fire has resulted in five deaths and four injuries, and destroyed 978 structures and damaged 256 more.
Additionally, the CZU August Lightning Fire in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties has burned 80,137 acres at 19% containment and has resulted in one death, while the BTU/TGU Lightning Complex Fire has burned 53,684 acres near Butte, Tehama and Glenn counties and was 27% contained.
A helicopter pilot fighting the Hills Fire in Fresno County also died last week.
In a news conference on Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom remarked on the historic scale of the fires.
“We’ve already crossed the threshold … this year in terms of acreage burned. That puts us not on pace to have a historic wildfire season but actually sets the pace for a historic wildfire season,” he said.
