California hits about 11,000 lightning strikes in 72 hours; ignites 360 fires in nearby places

Sacramento: Almost 11,000 lightning strikes over 72 hours ignited hundreds of fires across California that have roared through wildland. In excess of 360 fires torched in the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere in Northern California on Wednesday, overpowering the state’s ability to react as it called for help from the remainder of the country.

A total of 367 individual fires were ignited, with more two dozen growing into major blazes, authorities said. They further added  it required an additional 125 fire motors and 1,000 faculty to battle the blazes.

According to the reports,Ten of thousands of Californians were under evacuation orders on Wednesday as existing fires extended and new ones emerged.

Hundreds of fires were burning across California, including 23 major fires or groups of fires that Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed on “this extraordinary weather that we’re experiencing and all of these lightning strikes.” He said the state has recorded nearly 11,000 lightning strikes in 72 hours and knows of 367 fires.

The fire had consumed 72 square miles (186 square kilometers). It jumped Interstate 80 Wednesday afternoon, briefly blocking traffic in both directions

As per latest update, A pilot has been killed and thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in California after lightning strikes sparked hundreds of fires across the US state.

California’s governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide fire emergency

Meanwhile, California has been combating surge in cases of the novel coronavirus for as long as two months, and evacuations may complicate endeavors to get the virus under control, specialists said.