(VitalNews.org) – The biggest wildfire in California this year was surrounding grasslands around San Francisco Bay and Central Valley. The fire, which is referred to as the Corral fire, was seventy-five percent contained after it had swept over twenty square miles.
The fire erupted on Saturday and continued to be driven by the wind. It began on land owned by one of the country’s main centers for nuclear weapon science and technology, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory . The wildfire destroyed one home and injured two firefighters as a result, but the cause of the wildfire has not yet been identified.
Thousands of people within this area were told to evacuate and leave for evacuation centers over the weekend. The orders were lifted after firefighters were able to make more progress in extinguishing the fire thanks to cooperating weather.
Emergency management services warned people to stay vigilant and be prepared for change as firefighters continued to fight the flames. California has been experiencing multiple back-to-back wet years with lots of rainfall that have brought on more vegetation, but this year is different. The dry spell during these current months is expected to bring more wildfires into the area, and the Corral fire is by far the largest that they’ve dealt with this year.
Jacob Bendix, professor emeritus in the geography and the environment department at Syracuse University, said that fire burns hotter when the weather is hot, and winds can also bring embers across the state to other areas.
He continued to say that the wet seasons have brought on more vegetation but as we get into drier months, this vegetation essentially turns into fuel for the fire.
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