The West Coast of the United States is in smoke and fire for a whole week. The fire has not yet been extinguished, but it has already been recognized as the most destructive in the history of California. Here, in the Sacramento area, the hearth was dubbed “bear” – for the strength and power with which the flame swept through the forest. The “Fire Beast” in this area killed 10 people. Running away from him was not easy. A narrow and winding forest road. Trees on both sides. The woman tried to leave. The wheels burst from the high temperature, the car turned over. She could not get out of the fire.
To burn out or go to hell – there was little choice. They were saved who can and how they can. Several people jumped into the icy mountain lake. So we sat in the water until the rescue helicopters arrived.
Christina Kowalski clings to the slightest hope of finding relatives who lived where a fire raged for two days. “I’ve been trying to contact my family for more than a day now, and there is no connection. I don’t know how they are, what’s with their house. I hope he survived, but most likely not, judging by what I hear,” says Kristina.
The dead are already more than 30, and the end and edge of the fire is not visible. The list of victims will only grow, the authorities are setting up. There are dozens of missing persons on the West Coast.
“I was looking for my mother for three days. She did not call me. Here I have a coupon for visiting the hospital, she is there. She was found. But a 16-year-old boy, our neighbor, he grew up in front of my eyes, could not escape – he burned out,” – recalls one of the local residents.
Oregon began a massive evacuation of 500,000 people. That is, every tenth resident of the state must leave home. There may be nowhere to return. Instead of 6 thousand houses – ashes. The fire left nothing to the victims.
“We ran away at night. We could not take our animals. We had to escape. We jumped into trucks and drove off. We are now homeless, the Red Cross pays for the hotel,” one of the local residents cries.
The free week at the motel will end soon. While the Red Cross still brings some food here, relatives are still feeding and helping with things. You will have to move out to them. The town in which all these people lived is no longer there. “We lost everything. Our church burned down, the sheds burned down, the store, the school burned down. Everyone lost their homes, chaos,” people say.
California is on fire every summer. But the state has not yet burned so much – the fire roamed over 13 thousand square kilometers. The fire came from above, driven by the wind, it literally flew. Several meters of asphalt did not notice the flame. Threw to the other side of the road and burned everything that was possible. Only numbers remained from the houses. The ash is smoking, and new fires are increasingly covering the West Coast with a white blanket, under which there is nothing to breathe and nothing is visible.
Smoke on their streets again. The townspeople talk about déjà vu. This is Paradise, which thundered all over the world 2 two years ago. Then 85 people died here. Since then, these bald areas and black trees stand in a row.
The official cause of the 2018 fire, like many other California fires, is worn out nets. Rotten pillars and dilapidated wires don’t need much – they spark.
“It looks very ancient. No one is watching the networks properly. If they worked properly, we would not have this problem. But, unfortunately, there was a fire. I am suing them now. I think we will win the trial. But whether there is enough money to restore all the lost property, I do not even know “, – said one of the local residents.
As long as the trial is up, their home is a trailer. Neither the state nor the federal authorities have offered payments, and not everyone has insurance here. This is how they live in mobile homes for the second year. She finds a reason to smile and says, if this fire comes closer, it will be easier to escape on wheels.
Fire-fighting helicopters and airplanes are constantly in the air. Rescue aircraft – where smoke does not interfere with flying. On the ground, metal melts from temperature, but 30 thousand firefighters have no choice. They not only extinguish, but also build barriers in the path of the fire.
“We ask for additional help, but we are not given it. There are a lot of fires in California now, and although firefighters from Israel, Canada, New Zealand, Australia came to our aid, we still do not have enough people,” one of the firefighters.
The state went to extreme measures – 3 thousand prisoners were taken out to fight the fire. Those who agreed to become volunteers are promised to remove their convictions and get a job in the fire departments. The governor signed such an order right on the ashes. “This is a monstrous and climate-related emergency. It really is. An element that never happened,” he said.
The Democratic governor does not blame himself for anything. Like his party members, he talks a lot about global warming. Here is their presidential candidate Joe Biden – for renewable energy sources – solar panels, wind farms.
“Biden will destroy the US energy industry. He promises to follow the same course that leads to power outages in California. He wants everything to be covered by the wind,” said US President Donald Trump.
In green energy, the flagship state is California, but it is also the leader in
