Fire crews fight to contain Calabasas' 'Old Fire'
A wildfire has quickly moved through the hills of Calabasas, a city in Los Angeles county, over the weekend, calling over 400 firefighters to battle the blaze.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department says the fire started Saturday afternoon after a single car crashed into a power pole. Dubbed by firefighters because of its proximity to Old Topanga Canyon Road, the blaze has caused minor damage to two homes, destroyed one commercial building and led thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.聽
The Los Angeles County Fire Department tweeted Sunday morning that Old fire had burned over 515 acres but was at by 7 am. Some of the 5,000 homeowners forced to evacuate were allowed to return home Sunday morning, but the fire department warned they would likely be without power.
鈥淭he fire is starting to move on us, we鈥檙e deploying all. We just did a major shift change so you see the fire engines going by us, they鈥檝e been briefed, they鈥檙e going out on the line, and they鈥檙e going to start their tactical operations to try and improve the amount of containment 鈥� ,鈥� Los Angeles County Fire Department Deputy Chief John Tripp said in a press conference Sunday morning.聽
Fire crews were dumping water from Lake Calabasas on the flames from helicopters and airplanes, but Deputy Tripp said the area鈥檚 rugged terrain required ample manpower above all else.
鈥淲e can drop all the water all day,鈥� Tripp tells NBC News. 鈥� to make sure that fire鈥檚 out.鈥�
California, and Los Angeles specifically, is no stranger to wildfires. Almost in California in 2015, ranking third behind Alaska and Washington, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures will rise into the 90s in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and up to 106 in the Antelope Valley.
鈥淪ince Thursday, a ridge of high pressure has warmed Southern California, prompting weather officials to warn of ,鈥� says the Los Angeles Times. 鈥淭he Southland heat wave has not produced any records, but Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sirard called the temperatures 鈥榮ignificantly above normal,鈥� 10 to 20 degrees higher than average in many areas.鈥�
Higher temperatures by making the landscape drier and thus more flammable. Wildfires are often considered one of climate change鈥檚 many negative effects as millions of more acres in the US are burned each year. In fact, nine of the 10 years with the largest acreage burned since 2000 has occurred since the turn of the century, coinciding with many of the hottest years on record.
鈥淥ver the next 25 years, the U.S. National Climate Assessment predicts the area burned by wildfires will double nationwide as global warming leads to higher temperatures, 鈥� explains the communication group Climate Nexus. 鈥淏y the end of the century, models predict that burned area in North America could increase by 2 to 5.5 times.鈥�
