Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AFP
AFP
World
Javier TOVAR

Fleeing California wildfires '10 times harder' during epidemic

The Creek fire has burned more than 66,000 hectares. ©AFP

Clovis (United States) (AFP) - It is not the first time that Leanna Mikesler has evacuated her home in the California mountains because of wildfires, but during an epidemic it is "10 times harder."

Mikesler and her husband fled with only their most important documents, and, as she walks her dog at an emergency Red Cross facility in Clovis in the center of the state, she says she fears their property may be destroyed.

"The fire is right around it," she says of her home in Meadow Lakes, in the Sierra National Forest where the Creek fire is raging.

"They call...the evacuation.And then you go from there to see if your house has been burned down," Mikesler says slowly, adding she has seen aerial images of firefighters battling to save her small community with water bombers.

Since the authorities notified them on Saturday through loudspeakers to evacuate, the couple has been living in a subsidized hotel room because the usual emergency facility -- a gymnasium filled with hundreds of beds -- is not an option during the Covid-19 crisis.

The Red Cross has provided meals for evacuees sheltering in the hotels.

Cindy Huge, a spokeswoman for the aid charity based in a local high school, said: "There's over 600 people...and food has been delivered to them in disposable containers, three meals a day and snacks and water."

Another evacuee, 69-year-old David Mascarini, told AFP he fled his home with his wife and dog, and after spending one night in a hotel he had to approach the Red Cross because there were no more rooms available. 

The Grey-bearded Mascarini says he cleared the brush from around his home in the hope that the flames would not take hold, but he doesn't know if it will work.

"I hope, hope it works out," he said.

At least 60 homes have already been destroyed by the Creek blaze, according to the California fire agency, and some communities nestled in the mountains have been turned into ghost towns.

Lines of smoke rise from the mountains as if they are billowing from chimneys, while logs still smolder and small fires burn on the roads.In the distance, helicopters and planes battle the blazes.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.