Over 116,000 acres of California has gone up in flames, culminating in six raging wildfires and countless smaller ones that have burned well over 505,000 acres thus far. The largest of which is in Ventura County, where authorities found the body of 70-year-old Virginia Pesola, who died from “blunt force injuries with terminal smoke inhalation and thermal injuries,” according to the Ventura County medical examiner office. Her body was found at the scene of an accident on the evacuation route away from the fire and out of the area.
Check out the locations of the major fires here:
Thousands have fled for their lives, leaving their homes and other property behind and hoping theirs isn’t one of the hundreds of structures that have fallen victim to the fire so far. However, firefighters have been making progress in containing some of these raging fires — the wind is a huge factor and it has reportedly begun to die down.
Once the fire eventually dies all the way down, the process of sifting through the rubble, rebuilding and moving forward will no doubt be yet another struggle in the lives of many California residents. Personal belongings, pictures, awards — many of these things will have gone with the flames.
Over 100 million trees have perished in the fires this year, constantly adding to the fuel that the fire feeds upon. This produces large amounts of smoke that can be a hazard to anyone’s health, particularly the elderly or children. Firefighters have worked tirelessly around the clock to mitigate the damage where they can. Here are just a couple of videos to help visualize the work they’re doing out west.
Firefighter forced to take a break:
Video courtesy of Imgur
Watch as a firefighter saves a dog’s life from smoke inhalation:
Video courtesy of FOX news via YouTube
Featured image courtesy of the Associated Press.
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