ZCZC
BFF-09
US-ENVIRONMENT-FIRE
California’s raging wildfires cause another death
CLEARLAKE OAKS, United States, Aug 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – California’s deadly
Carr wildfire — now the state’s sixth most destructive — has claimed
another life with a power linesman killed on the job its seventh fatality,
officials said Sunday.
The Carr Fire, located some 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of San
Francisco, is still growing, CalFire said Sunday.
Its intensity was so great at one point, that it generated a tornado-like
whirl of fire — as well as its own weather system.
PG&E power company identified the worker Sunday as Jairus Ayeta, who was
killed in a remote area of Shasta county where crews were working to restore
electricity.
“The safety of our employees and our customers is PG&E’s top priority. Our
thoughts and prayers are with our fallen team member, his family and our
extended team,” the company said in a statement.
“We are working with law enforcement to investigate the circumstances of
the incident,” it added.
The Carr Fire has scorched 154,524 acres (62,534 hectares) of land since
July 23, when authorities say it was triggered by the “mechanical failure of
a vehicle” that caused sparks to fly in tinderbox-dry conditions.
The fire has also razed more than 1,600 buildings, including some 1,000
homes, making it the sixth most destructive blaze in the history of the fire-
prone western state, state officials say.
More than 4,200 firefighters have been deployed to battle the
conflagration but they have only succeeded in containing 41 percent of it so
far.
Other fires raging in the state include the Mendocino Complex, comprised
of two blazes: the River Fire and the Ranch Fire.
Several thousand people have been evacuated as the fires swept across the
state, although some have been given permission in recent days to return to
their homes.
President Donald Trump blamed the fires’ destruction on “bad environmental
laws,” but did not mention evacuees or victims of the inferno.
“California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad
environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available
water to be properly utilized,” he tweeted.
“It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop
fire spreading!”
The US president drew international outrage last year after withdrawing
the United States from the Paris climate change pact that is aimed at
combatting global warming.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1015 hrs