The death toll has risen to five, as great-grandmother Mary Bledsoe and her great-grandchildren, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, were killed as the Carr fire moved through Redding, CA on Saturday. The fire is currently 5% contained and has destroyed over 80,000 acres and 500 structures based on a revised counts.
President Trump has declared a state of emergency in California after deadly wildfires have ripped through over 102,028 acres across the state this week, according to the governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
According to the White House, Trump has authorized FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) to assist California firefighters who are battling tinder-fueled infernos thanks to nearly half-a-decade of drought.
The worst of the blazes has devastated Shasta County, as the Carr Fire has claimed the lives of two first responders, forced thousands to evacuate and burned 48,312 acres – around half the total affected area across the state. The fire was 5% contained as of Friday night according to officials, while Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke was killed along with a bulldozer operator as they battled the blaze.– READ MORE
[divider][/divider]A wildfire that led to the evacuation of nearly 40,000 people in Northern California is creating massive fire tornadoes as emergency crews struggle to contain the flames.
Skip Murphy of Redding, California, posted a video on social media of a heat vortex, or a fire whirl that occurs when intense rising heat and blustery wind conditions combine to form whirling eddies of air.
The vortex sounded and looked a lot like a tornado, according to Murphy.
“No audio, but it sounds like a freight train, punctuated with explosions. Never seen anything like it,” Murphy wrote Friday on a Facebook post that also included a video of the fiery twister.
The Carr Fire is threatening to torch towns and cause millions of dollars of damage before emergency crews can snuff it out.
Before being evacuated, my friend @ReallyRedding Skip Murphy shot this amazing footage of a #Firenado in Redding, CA. pic.twitter.com/CrfOO4nlcz
— Craig Padilla (@CraigPadilla) July 27, 2018
The fire has already destroyed nearly 500 structures, damaged 75 others and could demolish 5,000 homes and buildings, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) spokesman Scott Kenney told CNN Saturday.– READ MORE
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