NORTH FORK | Fires have ravaged more than 8,000 km2 in California, nearly 80 times the area of Paris, forcing many residents to flee these fires of an unprecedented scale since 1987, firefighters said Monday.
“This is the first time in 33 years that we have exceeded two million acres”, or 8,000 km2firefighter spokesperson Lynne Tolmachoff said. “It’s clearly a record. And we are still far from the end of the fire season ”.
As of Monday afternoon, thousands of firefighters were still fighting the fires.
Across southern California, people were ordered to evacuate and take shelter.
In northern California, more than 200 people were evacuated by army helicopters to escape a rapidly spreading fire that started near Fresno.