President Trump has declared a state of emergency in California after deadly wildfires have ripped through over 102,028 acres across the state this week, according to the governor's Office of Emergency Services.
According to the White House, Trump has authorized FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) to assist California firefighters who are battling tinder-fueled infernos thanks to nearly half-a-decade of drought.
The worst of the blazes has devastated Shasta County, as the Carr Fire has claimed the lives of two first responders, forced thousands to evacuate and burned 48,312 acres - around half the total affected area across the state. The fire was 5% contained as of Friday night according to officials, while Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke was killed along with a bulldozer operator as they battled the blaze.
Photo: Kaz Weida
Redding Chief of Police Roger Moore told the press that so many residents were fleeing the fire that they were creating "gridlock" on the city's roads, as temperatures reached 110 degrees in some spots and created their own weather described by Can official as "a tornado over the fire."
"Fire was whipped up into a whirlwind of activity," said California's top fire official, Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott, adding that it was "uprooting trees, moving vehicles, moving parts of roadways." Pimlott said that dry brush was to blame for the wildfires.
Shadrac Herrera of Redding, 34, said he witnessed the upheaval. "I saw a tornado of fire," he said. "I could hear it whistling and sucking up air and at the same time it was growing. Incredibly scary." -NBC News
Tops of the Pyrocumulus cloud over the #CarrFire in California are now up to 32,000’! This fire is creating its own weather! pic.twitter.com/dxaVsmEYZD
Aerial View of the Redding Fire % #redding #california #reddingcalifornia #calfire @calfire @ktvu2 @kron4tv @kpixtv @sfgate @sfchronicle @krcrnews @buzzfeednews @buzzfeed https://t.co/dze3bTBIgt pic.twitter.com/EC5ugrkKjH
On Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Shasta County while formally requesting federal emergency aid from the White House late Friday, according to NBC News.
Massive California fire jumps over river and threatens city of 95,000 people https://t.co/mLiaLiRvto pic.twitter.com/qQb4umkKbV
"Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate," he said. "Pay very close attention to social media, websites, local television and radio broadcasts."
So many fires had broken out across the Golden State that Pimlott said first responders were hoping to mount vicious initial attacks to...