Weekly Reader | Lead Story

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alifornia firefighters can finally catch a break. They have been battling intense wildfires for more than three weeks. Officials are now reporting that many of the fires have been contained.

Sparked by lightning, the wildfires started on June 21 and quickly spread throughout the northern part of the state. A wildfire is an unplanned, unwanted fire that burns in a forest or wildland area. Wildfires are fueled by winds, heat, and highly flammable brush and trees. At one point, more than 1,780 wildfires were burning in California—and an estimated 80 continue to scorch the land. The fires have destroyed more than 879,152 acres. Because the fires were mostly in unpopulated areas, the flames claimed only about 100 homes. More than 1,800 homes were damaged by the state's wildfires last year.

Experts say the scope of this year's fires makes them unprecedented. They are "the largest single fire event in history for California," says Kelly Houston, spokesman for the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Wildfires also raged in the state of Washington.

In the past few years, wildfires have become more pervasive and more difficult to control. Containing the fires took the work of 448 firefighter crews. In addition to battling the blazes, firefighters had to fight extreme fatigue. Many had to work 24-hour shifts. Help arrived when Australia, Canada, Greece, Mexico, and New Zealand sent planes and crews to California.

Air tanker planes and helicopters have helped firefighters too. The planes dropped 2,000 gallons of flame retardant onto the fires. The helicopters carried hundreds of gallons of water, flew over the fires, and dropped the water to extinguish the flames below.

Firefighters even got help from NASA scientists. A pilotless plane called a drone, developed by NASA, flew over the wildfires and sent images of flare-ups to officials. The drone helped crews on the ground see where the fire was going so they could help keep people safe.

"Progress is really being made — we've really turned a corner," says Daniel Berlant, a state fire department spokesman. "But we have to remember this is just July, and our biggest fires are historically in September and October."

Critical Thinking Question

1. Firefighters must work in teams as they fight wildfires. Why might that be important?

2. Experts say that starting controlled fires in wooded areas can help prevent and control wildfires. How might controlled burns do that?

Watch a slide show of California firefighters at work:
www.oes.ca.gov

Look at a map of California to see where the fires started:
www.sacbee.com

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