Several wildfires cause the evacuation of 1,200 people in California

The Los Angeles County Fire Department (California) continues to fight the fire that started this Saturday and which, for the moment, remains active. Authorities warned that, as of Sunday night, fire fighting experts had only managed to contain 2% of the flames that had already devastated more than 15,000 acres of land:

As detailed by the fire department in a statement, there are no deaths, injuries or missing persons due to the fire. In addition, they reported, the fire has not destroyed any family residences as yet, although there are 50 that are at risk of being consumed by the fire. As for businesses, one was destroyed by the fire while another ten are in danger.

The areas affected by the fire

All of these buildings are located in Hungry Valley Park and Pyramid Lake, two areas known to be sites where campers, jeeps and hikers are located and which were evacuated as soon as the fire started. In total, the Fire Department reported, at least 1,200 campers were evacuated after the fire threatened to move through the area in which they were located.

The strong winds are also not helping to extinguish the fire that, according to NBC News, spread this Sunday along Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles and forced the closure of the South of Ralphs Ranch and Quail Lake roads.

The wind was just one of the obstacles that firefighters faced during the fire whose origin they continue to investigate. They, said Los Angeles County Fire Department section chief Kenichi Haskett, also had to deal with the stifling conditions and steep terrain that further complicated their work.

But, he reported, gusts remain his main concern as it prevents planes from approaching the fire scene to drop water and fire retardants. "When it’s windy, it just sprays the water everywhere we don’t need it. So that’s a challenge," Haskett said.

A second fire in Northern California

The fire in Hungry Valley Park was not the only one that firefighters had to deal with. A second fire originated this Sunday near Lake Sonoma, located in northern California.

Known as the Point Fire, this fire caused an evacuation of an area near Lake Sonoma as well as various warnings on the surrounding land, mainly occupied by vineyards and rural properties. This fire, reported the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, is still active although, unlike the Hungry Valley fire, it was 15% contained and burned 1,013 acres of land: