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full screen A building and a car burn in the great forest fire in Oroville. Picture taken on Tuesday. Photo: Noah Berger/AP/TT
More than 25,000 people have been told to evacuate their homes to escape a wildfire raging out of control in Northern California.
More than 1,400 hectares of grass and forest have been consumed by the fire, which broke out on Tuesday just outside the town of Oroville. Several people have been slightly injured.
California, which has previously suffered about 20 years of drought, has had two relatively mild years with plenty of rain. But 2024 looks set to be a hot and dry year, meaning that the vegetation that thrived for the past two years is now rapidly drying out – creating plenty of fuel for the wildfires.
“The conditions in our area are very different this summer than the last two summers,” said Butte County Fire Chief Garrett Sjolund.
There are now fears that the celebration of America’s national day on July 4, when many fireworks are traditionally postponed, will cause more forest fires.