(Press-News.org) Seven fires are still burning in San Diego County, California. Arson is suspected as the origin of these fires. Two teens have been arrested on suspicion of setting the fire that spread so ferociously across the county. All of California is experiencing exceptional, extreme or severe drought conditions. The wildfire area is in the second-most dangerous category--extreme drought conditions. California's governor has cited climate change as a factor in the fires, noting the last three years have been the driest in recorded history. Wildfire season used to start in late summer and extend into the fall, now it appears that threat continues year round due to the conditions that California is currently facing.
CNN reports the following for each of the fires in this grouping:
The Cocos Fire in San Marcos - 1,200 acres have burned with 10% of the fire currently contained. The fire is still very active.
The Tomahawk Fire at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton - 6,300 acres are burned with 15% of the fire contained. A Camp Pendleton firefighter was being treated Thursday for heat exhaustion.
Las Pulgas Fire at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton - 8,000 acres are burned with 5% of the fire contained. Camp Las Pulgas and Camp Margarita were ordered to evacuate.
The Bernardo Fire in San Diego - 1,548 acres burned with 90% of the fire being contained. Authorities believe the blaze will be fully contained today.
The Poinsettia Fire in Carlsbad - 400 acres burned with 85% of the fire being contained. One person perished in the fire and was found on Thursday afternoon (reports from San Diego Channel 10)
The Miguelito Fire in Santa Barbara County - 632 acres burned with 95% of the fire being contained.
Highway Fire - Bonsall: The Highway Fire erupted at about noon Wednesday and has burned about 380 acres with 100 percent containment achieved Thursday evening. (Information on this fire from News Channel 8 in San Diego)
Weather reports for the area this coming weekend predict a cooling trend which is good news for firefighters and residents alike. Highs will drop to 70s and 80s for the coast and valleys. Next week, the coast will be back into the 60s and the valleys, 70s. By Tuesday, the area will be 5-10 degrees below normal making firefighting a little easier for crews.
NASA's Aqua satellite collected this natural-color image with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, MODIS, instrument on May 15, 2014. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from CNN.com, San Diego CBS affliate Channel 8, and San Diego ABC affliate Channel 10.
INFORMATION: END
Fires continue in San Diego County, California
2014-05-16
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