Massive California flames level the town and threaten others when it burns out of control

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The small Sierra town of Greenville, California, was severely damaged from Wednesday night to early Thursday as a Dixie fire struck north in strong winds, extremely dry air, and high temperatures.

Big picture: Dixie Fire, California’s largest flame and the sixth-largest wildfire in state history, destroyed homes and businesses. Greenville And its surrounding area Plumas County..

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  • Authorities issued evacuation orders to Greenville and other communities about 240 miles northeast of San Francisco when the flames rushed.

  • “If you are still in the Greenville area, you are in imminent risk and you have to leave now !!” The office in Plumas County Sheriff posted to Facebook..

  • According to AP, the flames destroyed a downtown building that dates back more than a century. “We did everything we could,” said fire spokesman Mitch Matrow. Told the news service.. “Sometimes that’s not enough.”

Threat level: Firefighters face the problem of very dry air, high temperatures and strong winds, and therefore Red flag Fire weather warning until Thursday evening.

In numbers: In addition to the Dixie fire, several other wildfires are also burning in Northern California.Current Wednesday night, River Fire burned 1,400 acres and contained 0%.

  • Dixie Fire is currently the sixth-largest fire in California’s history, burning more than 320,000 acres so far. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the size has increased by at least 24,000 acres compared to Wednesday.

  • In a dangerous situation, River Fire exploded from Wednesday sparks to well over 2,000 acres by dusk, growing rapidly, threatening some small towns and blowing more than 30,000 feet of smoke into the sky. ..

  • Thursday morning Revealed Riverfire destroyed several homes in the town of Colfax, California.

context: The very dry condition of Northern California Severe drought, This is the worst Western side has ever seen in this century.

  • I have experience not only in Northern California, but also in Oregon and Washington. Repeated heat wave This summer, forests became even drier and lakes and reservoirs shrank to record low levels.

  • artificial Climate change is driving Studies show that it is behind the increasing potential and severity of heat waves and droughts, and the tendency towards larger wildfires in much of the west in recent years.

  • Last year Worst wildfire season in California On record. So far, this season has outpaced last year’s pace, and the climatological peak of the season will not begin in the next few weeks.

Rebecca Falconer and Jacob Knutson contributed to the report.

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