LOWER LAKE, Calif. — Blazes raging in forests and woodlands across California have taken the life of a firefighter and forced hundreds of people to flee their homes as crews continue to battle the flames from the air and the ground.
Twenty-three large fires, many sparked by lightning strikes, were burning across northern California on Saturday, said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. About 9,000 firefighters were working to subdue them, something made incredibly difficult by several years of drought that have dried out California.
“The conditions and fire behavior we’re seeing at 10 in the morning is typically what we’d see in late afternoon in late August and September,” said Nick Schuler, a division chief with Cal Fire. “But because of the dry conditions, because of the drought-stricken vegetation accompanied by the steep terrain and winds, we’re seeing fire activity that’s abnormal for this time of year.”
The fires prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency for California and activate the California National Guard to help with disaster recovery.
Berlant said firefighters were hoping cooler weather might help them this weekend, but there was also the threat that lingering thunderstorms could bring more lightning strikes like those that ignited several of the fires.
Firefighter killed
Engine Capt. David Ruhl, from South Dakota, was killed battling a fast-moving blaze that broke out Thursday in the Modoc National Forest about 100 miles south of Oregon. Ruhl was in a vehicle Thursday, looking for ways to attack the blaze, when the fire suddenly grew and trapped him, fire information officer Ken Sandusky said. His body was recovered Friday. Ruhl, part of a Black Hills National Forest firefighting team, had been helping California firefighters since June. By Saturday, the fire had grown to about 3 acres, and it was 5 percent contained.
