The massive wildfires that have engulfed parts of Northern and Central California have destroyed more than 1,000 homes and commercial buildings since late July.
The blazes have burned 1.3 million acres in a month, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis, and a potential storm rolling through the state in the coming days could make ongoing fires worse.
In addition to the structures already destroyed, another 80,000 buildings are threatened by fire, the Times analysis found. Most of the homes were destroyed in the last 10 days.
The second- and third-largest fires in California history — the LNU fire in Northern California and the SCU Lightning Complex fire in Central California — are still raging, and each has burned nearly 350,000 acres.
Four people have died from injuries sustained from the LNU fire, which is 21 percent contained. As of Sunday night, that blaze — in Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solana, Yolo and Colusa counties — had destroyed 871 homes and buildings, according to the Times. The SCU fire was 10 percent contained, also as of Sunday night.
Last year around 259,000 acres burned in wildfires. UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a blog post Sunday that this year’s Northern California fires are unprecedented.
A rash of wildfires in and around L.A. County last year resulted in a spike in insurance rates.
In December, a developer was set to sue the city of Los Angeles for rejecting a massive residential complex in the San Fernando Valley, a project that City Council members killed due to concerns over wildfires in the area. [LAT] — Dennis Lynch