SAN FRANCISCO—More than 840 wild fires ignited by a severe lightning storm have prompted California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to seek firefighters from Nevada and Oregon to help put out the destructive blazes that are raging through Northern California.
Thousands of firefighters fought with wilderness fires on the ground and from the air on Tuesday as helicopters dropped water and fire retardants over the raging flames. Gov. Schwarzenegger has mobilized all of the state's firefighting recourses to combat hundreds of wildfires that erupted and charred swaths of land and structures, mostly in Northern California.
"You can imagine how shocked I was yesterday when I got my briefings [Sunday] night and I was told that we have 520 fires all over the state of California. So it was quite shocking to me, only to find out this morning that that number has actually gone up to 700 and some fires," the governor said during a briefing on Monday in Fairfield.
A few moments later, however, a top state fire official revealed at the briefing a bleak update—the latest number of fires was 842. Del Walters, who made the announcement, is an assistant regional chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
According to Walters, the lightning storm that ignited most of the small wildfires lasted "as long as 5,000 to 6,000 lightning strikes," and that firefighters are going to be fighting these fires for some time to come.
"We didn't get real lucky with this lighting storm. It wasn't predicted—which often happens with these storms that come in off the Pacific, there's no history of the weather as it approaches the shore—and so we got hammered," said Walters.
Over 100,000 acres have burned so far in California. Approximately 40 structures have been destroyed, including 13 homes, and 250 more structures were threatened, according to the governor.
As of Tuesday, there are 4,300 firefighters working to put out the fires. As fires are being contained, firefighters and their equipment will be transitioning from one location to another. Firefighting aircraft have also arrived from Nevada and Oregon, as a response to the governor's request.
"You can never prepare for 700, or more than 700 fires at the same time," said Schwarzenegger.
Two months ago, experts warned of the extreme fire danger after dry months of March and April set state records of drought. The extreme weather conditions prompted Schwarzenegger to declare a state-wide drought emergency in nine counties.
So far this year, 2,000 wild fires have burned about 25,000 acres, charring dozens of homes, harming livestock, homeowners and injuring firefighters.
As of Tuesday morning—although the temperature had cooled—hundreds of wildfires continued to burn.
One bit of good news is that firefighters reached 80 percent containment of one large wildfire—called "Wild Fire"—which flared-up on Saturday and burned more than 4,000 acres along the border of two Northern California counties. A single outbuilding was destroyed, though 150 structures remain threatened, according to authorities.
A Cal Fire division chief said that firefighters are transitioning their focus from the "Wild Fire" to the "Walker Fire," in another county. The "Walker Fire" has consumed an estimated 8,600 acres with the potential of growing to 10,000 to 15,000 acres and is approaching 35 homes on rural ranches.
Another large fire, the "Popcorn Fire," caused by lightning is threatening the residents of the Little Valley who are under voluntary evacuation orders. The "Popcorn Fire" appeared to have merged with a larger blaze, the "Peteron Fire," and is the latest major blaze that burned 3,100 acres and is 25 percent contained.
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