California is being consumed by a series of wildfires that started on Monday, July 23. There are currently 15 active fires starting in San Diego, California and stretching all the way to Medford, Oregon. As of August 7 there has been nine fatalities and over 1,000 homes and businesses destroyed.

THE FIRES

The unfortunate series of events started when a vehicle suffered from mechanical failure and the deadly Carr Fire began, resulting in over 214,000 acres to be destroyed.

What started as only a spark has caused mass destruction and claimed the lives of at least 6 people and left countless others missing. Chris Anthony, a division chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told Amani Hughes, “Under these conditions that we are seeing right now, it’s not going to take much for the fire to have the extreme spread that we saw a couple of days ago. We are simply not getting a break.”

South of the Carr Fire, in Ukiah, California, the largest wildfire recorded in California history is still burning with only 69% of it contained. The Mendocino Complex fires started on July 27, just four days after the Carr Fire began.

One of the Mendocino Complex fires, the Ranch Fire, is now stretching over 317,000 acres and is expected to be fully contained on September 1. The second fire, known as the River Fire, has been contained and only covered 49,000 acres. The Mendocino Complex fires claimed the life of one fireman.

Thirteen other fires continue to actively burn as of Thursday, August 16.