The towns of Greenville and Colefax have experienced devastation.
A rapidly spreading wildfire burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate in two heavily wooded counties northeast of Sacramento in Northern California. Smoke generated by the fire had a plume visible from at least 70 miles away.
At least 2,400 people have evacuated their homes in Placer County, and another 4,200 people were under evacuation orders in Nevada County. Evacuation shelters and places for animals and pets were set up at a fairground in both counties.
The River Fire scorched 1,400 acres in Placer and Nevada counties, with 1,000 acres burned within the first two hours, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). That fire is less than 100 miles south of the enduring Dixie Fire, which according to Cal Fire has consumed 278,000 acres and was only 35 percent contained three weeks after it started.
Images posted online showed the Dixie Fire had destroyed multiple structures in the section of Greenville, a town of about 800 people in Plumas County. At least four homes have been destroyed in Colefax, a Placer County town of 2,000 people about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento.
There are at least 91 large wildfires burning in the West. The Bootleg Fire in Oregon has now burned an area the size of Portland and Seattle, Sacramento, and New York City combined. Authorities warn the fire may not be fully contained until October.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For firefighters and others responding to the wildfires across the Western United States.
- For wisdom for state and local authorities as they evaluate dangers and issue evacuation notices.
- For U.S. officials working to implement forest management procedures that would help to ameliorate wildfires.
- For residents to heed warnings to evacuate.
Sources: NY Times, Reuters
