Santa Clarita, Sand, Monterey, Soberanes Fires Update [MAPS]: Thousands Affected, Large Smoke Plumes and Fire Rain Reported by Evacuees
California wildfires continue to threaten lives, affect properties and ravage through brush and communities; fires are still uncontrollable.
Uncontrollable wildfires still ravage thousands of acres of land in the southern and central parts of California. The Sand Fire in Santa Clarita has burned more than 37,000 acres of Santa Clarita Valley and as of Tuesday, Los Angeles County Fire Department says that the blaze was only 25% contained.
The Sand Fire has claimed one life, has burned at least 18 homes and has affected thousands of residents who have fled their homes in terror. Valuable properties were also destroyed including an animal sanctuary.
Thousands of fire fighters are on the scene battling walls of flames in extremely dangerous conditions. They had to endure steep terrains and clouds of smoke as they tried to control the Sand Fire.
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The effects of the powerful blaze can be felt from miles away. Residents from surrounding area can see towering columns of smoke as some also reported raining ash and skies turning red because of the smoke.
Extremely dry weather conditions helped fan the blaze which has grown twice its size each night. Authorities say that the blaze grew about 10,000 acres a day. Joey Marron, a Los Angeles County Fire Department inspector said that their efforts are going strong. He said in an interview: "We set some backfires overnight in some of our areas of concern and this gave us space to contain the fire. We should be good, if the winds don't pick up. It's still very hot out there."
Aside from ground crews, helicopters were used to carry water from the ocean to the blaze. Cal Fire helicopters can be seen flying back and forth even during the evenings.
Meanwhile, warnings for residents regarding unhealthy air quality in the area of the Santa Clarita Valley and the San Gabriel Mountains have been released.
Monterey County brush fire
The Soberanes Fire has destroyed more than 19,000 acres of land along the California coast between Big Sur and Carmel. Fire authorities reported that this fire has been 10% contained.
A resident who has spent days at a Red Cross shelter after being evacuated from his home in the area told CNN that he had tried to save his home but failed. He mentioned that he only left when the condition really got worse. "It was raining fire from the sky."
More than 300 residents along the Palo Colorado neighborhood have been evacuated while mandatory evacuations are still being conducted along the southern parts of the Carmel Highlands. There are no injuries reported. There are more than 2,000 fire fighters in the area
Residents found in nearby communities report that smoke from the fire can be seen as far as Silicon Valley which is about a hundred miles north and as far as Lake Tahoe which is about 300 miles east. Unhealthy air quality alerts are also in place.
