‘Extraordinary’ number of fires in California

SAN FRANCISCO – The unprecedented number and size of wildfires burning in California this year has forced firefighters to strategically choose which ones to tackle.

Officials say this is necessary in a fire season that already has seen hot weather, rough terrain and lightning storms complicate efforts to bring blazes under control. Long-running wildfires are not unusual in California.It was four months before firefighters controlled a blaze that blackened more than 971 square kilometres of Santa Barbara County back country last year.What is extraordinary this year is the number of fires burning at the same time, Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the US Forest Service said.The weekend of June 21 saw some 1 200 fires burning – a figure Forest Service officials said appeared to be an all-time record in California.The Forest Service put the figure at about 600 on Monday.It attributed the gains to its tactic of attacking small fires first, and to significant assistance from other states and from Canada.State officials, however, counted more than 1 000 ongoing blazes.The source of the discrepancy apparently was a different counting method.Also unusual, Kirchner said, was that there have been no significant injuries to civilians or firefighters even though some 1 476 square kilometres have burned in California this season.Even a modest rainstorm, highly unlikely in July, would do little to diminish the likelihood of a long, tough fire season, said John Heil, another Forest Service spokesman.Nampa-APLong-running wildfires are not unusual in California.It was four months before firefighters controlled a blaze that blackened more than 971 square kilometres of Santa Barbara County back country last year.What is extraordinary this year is the number of fires burning at the same time, Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the US Forest Service said.The weekend of June 21 saw some 1 200 fires burning – a figure Forest Service officials said appeared to be an all-time record in California.The Forest Service put the figure at about 600 on Monday.It attributed the gains to its tactic of attacking small fires first, and to significant assistance from other states and from Canada.State officials, however, counted more than 1 000 ongoing blazes.The source of the discrepancy apparently was a different counting method.Also unusual, Kirchner said, was that there have been no significant injuries to civilians or firefighters even though some 1 476 square kilometres have burned in California this season.Even a modest rainstorm, highly unlikely in July, would do little to diminish the likelihood of a long, tough fire season, said John Heil, another Forest Service spokesman.Nampa-AP