Why are there so many fires in California?

31 people have died and thousands have been evacuated and lost their homes because of the terrible flames

Since Thursday, California has a constant sound. It is the crackle of the flames and the wind that does not help to put down a fire that has already claimed the lives of 31 people and that has destroyed 45,000 hectares. But in addition, the material damage is uncountable. "The destruction of 6300 residential structures and 260 commercial premises has been confirmed," said the police.

The fire has been baptized as "Camp fire", the deadliest in the history of California. In addition to the deceased, there are 100 missing persons. The flames do not stop and the lucky ones who have left their homes in time tell the fear lived. "It was crazy, terrifying, there were continually explosions of propane tanks," said one of those affected after being evacuated.

Others, however, find it hard to leave their homes. "Some of them, like me, who have been a firefighter, have stayed behind to protect my property and my animals."

Meanwhile, researchers are exploring the possible causes of this fire that are currently unknown. In addition in the north of the state, there is another fire that advances in parallel to the south and that has already burned more than 30,000 hectares.

Why do so many fires happen in this area? 2018 is the worst wildfire year for California. This same summer, recorded the largest fire in its history with 150,000 hectares burned. The geographical situation makes it the perfect breeding ground for fires. "We have seen similar fires in Portugal, Chile, Greece, Australia, and they all share the similarity of a geographical and climatic situation in the Mediterranean," explains Raúl de la Calle, secretary of the Official College of Forest Technical Engineers, at COPE Mediodía. "Major droughts in summer and the existence of untreated plant material in these areas cause large forest fires," he warns.

In this sense, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, published a tweet that has been very controversial, making reference to the state of the area. "Billions of dollars are given every year and so many lives lost, all due to poor forest management." But the images that come to us from those fires in California alert us to the main problem that is making it very difficult to smother the flames: the wind. "The embers are moved to hundreds of meters causing new outbreaks around the main," he concluded.

MARTA: As Raúl de la Calle, secretary of the Official College of Forest Technical Engineers, told us, at this point, and due to the severity of the fires, we must prioritize, and protect infrastructures, protect homes and, above all, protect people. We hope that it is possible to put out the fire as soon as possible.