Californian wildfires out of control

Six days in and the wildfires continue to blaze.

40 people have died and hundreds are still missing as the blaze continues to wreak havoc across California. On Friday, firefighters were hopeful that the blaze was under control, yet a change in wind direction has caused the fire to spread more rapidly and over a greater area; potentially causing more fatalities and damage over the next few days.

Economically, the area affected is going to be hit severely, with many Napa vineyards having been destroyed and others set to be hit by the fires over the next couple of days. 10,000 firefighters have been deployed to help tackle the inferno, yet there seems to be no respite coming soon.

The fires are so severe as a result of 5 months of very dry, hot weather which has created very flammable vegetation which ignites quickly. Combined with the diablo wind (hot dry winds blowing down into the valleys which have allowed the fires to move at an alarming rate), the towns themselves have acted as a fuel source, with many houses made out of timber and this has allowed the fire to spread further.

The devastation is likely to spread. Check out the BBC news report:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worl...