The wildfire tearing through the Sierra Nevada foothills has burned 9,500 acres so far.
An increase in catastrophic wildfires has reduced California tree cover by 6.7% since 1985, and researchers fear the lost trees will never grow back.“We’re full with evacuees,” said Alyssa Wildt, manager of the Mother Lode Lodge on Highway 49.
Parts of the Central Valley have endured 13 consecutive days of triple-digit heat, although temperatures in the low to mid-90s prevailed in the higher-elevation area where the fire started, said Felix Castro, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford. The dry, dead trees are particularly combustible and release large amounts of energy as they burn, stoking the massive cloud of smoke and ash that could be seen for miles over the fire, he said. Such clouds are capable of making their own weather.
The fire was threatening the communities of Lushmeadows, Midpines, Jerseydale and Bootjack, from which about 6,062 people had been evacuated as of Saturday afternoon, officials said. No injuries had been reported, although at least 10 structures had been destroyed and another 2,000 were threatened.
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