Wildfires continue to burn in California by Rob McElwee
Fire fighters are struggling to contain over 1000 wildfires that have been burning across northern parts of California for more than a week. Over 140,000 hectares of land has been burnt with many fires still raging out of control.
Hot and very dry weather has been affecting much of the state for the past month or so, allowing the landscape to become tinder dry. The recent fires were thought to have been ignited by lightning strikes during a spell of unusually intense dry storms over a week ago.
Dry storms are very high altitude storms with cloud bases up to 18,000 feet high, and are associated with dry low level air. Due to the height of these storms and the low humidity beneath them, very little or no rain actually hits the ground. Fires that are started by dry storm lightning can spread out of control quickly as there is no heavy rain around to dampen the ground.
One of the largest wildfires burning in the state is close to the picturesque town of Big Sur, about 125 miles (200km) south of San Francisco. Around 16 homes have been destroyed in the Los Padres National Forest close to the town.
Wildfires, however, are not unusual in California as the climate is hot and very dry with often hot and gusty winds blowing. Last year, wildfires across the south of the state consumed more than 200,000 hectares of land and over 2,000 homes.
There appears to be little relief in sight for the thousands of fire fighters battling the flames, with more dry weather expected for the next few days.
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