As more than 12,000 firefighters in California are battling 560 fires, Gov. Gavin Newsom says he has asked for resources and support not only from other U.S. states but also Canada and Australia. The governor said Australia is home to “the world's best wildfire fighters.”
Newsom said Friday the fires have “disproportionately impacted” Northern California, where tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and where hundreds of homes and other buildings have been destroyed.
"We simply haven't seen anything like this in many, many years," Newsom said. "These fires are stretching our resources, our personnel.”
At least five people have been killed and 43 injured, including firefighters, in the blazes that have burned through 2,020 square kilometers during an historic heat wave.
Hank Hanson, 81, gestures to the kitchen of his home, destroyed by the LNU Lightning Complex fires, in Vacaville, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2020.
Redwood trees that are thousands of years old are being threatened by the fires. Buildings in Big Basin Redwoods State Park have already been damaged.
U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed California for the fires and seemed bewildered that state officials have not followed his suggestion to prevent them. On Thursday, in Pennsylvania, Trump said he told California authorities, "You gotta clean your floors, you gotta clean your forests — there are many, many years of leaves and broken trees and they're like, like, so flammable, you touch them and it goes up.”