A fire just north of San Bernardino, California, dubbed the Blue Cut Fire, has raged out of control and forced 82,000 residents to evacuate their homes. As of Wednesday, the fire has yet to be contained and has engulfed 15,000 acres of land and affected 34,500 homes.
Wildfires in California are a regular occurrence, but as the state experiences unprecedented drought, the fires only seem to be getting worse. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced they are employing massive resources — including 10 air tankers, 57 engines, and nearly 700 firefighters — in an effort to extinguish the blaze. The fire was reported to start Tuesday morning and originally engulfed two acres of land, but quickly got out of hand and engulfed 1,000 acres of land in an hour. The scene on hand could be a screenshot from Mad Max:
Updates on #BlueCutFire https://t.co/ihymR8vlwC https://t.co/aZELS68fgF
— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) August 17, 2016
UPDATE: Blue Cut Fire grows to 30,000 acres overnight https://t.co/wY0f0jHE22 pic.twitter.com/SddmTGxZWX
— LAist 89.3 (@KPCC) August 17, 2016
Cadaver dogs are being brought in to search for victims caught in the #BlueCutFire #abc7 pic.twitter.com/YkgZJLo1Vt
— John Gregory (@abc7johngregory) August 17, 2016
Officials are trying to get the fire under control, but United States Forest Service Spokesman Bob Poole said this blaze is an aggressive one:
“We’re seeing very aggressive fire behavior, burning through the brush. This is difficult to get in front of this and try to corral it. It looks like it’s going to be a long night right now.”
California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County, which will help victims of the fire who lost important paperwork. Brown said he will also provide more firefighting resources to battle the inferno.
(Via the New York Times)