FIERY FUTURE

California in ‘Uncharted Territory’ as New Blazes Erupt

Gov. Jerry Brown warns the situation will only get worse.

As several new wildfires erupted in California on Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown warned of a bleak and fiery future for the state as a result of climate change. “People are doing everything they can, but nature is very powerful and we’re not on the side of nature,” Brown told reporters. “We’re fighting nature with the amount of material we’re putting in the environment, and that material traps heat. And the heat fosters fires,” he said, adding that fire authorities are in “uncharted territory.” Brown’s comments came as more than 13,000 firefighters battled 16 fires raging across the state. One blaze alone, the so-called Carr Fire, had destroyed more than 1,000 homes near Redding as of Wednesday and sent nearly 40,000 people fleeing for their lives. The blaze, now the sixth-most destructive in the state’s history, has also killed six people since it broke out last week. Several new wildfires erupted even as Brown met with fire officials to discuss the situation, prompting evacuations in El Dorado County. Meanwhile the San Francisco Chronicle reports that, from Tuesday through Saturday last week, requests for more than 900 fire engines around California went unfilled, leaving emergency responders with far less help than they needed.