2020-08-20t185512z_990953608_rc2uhi9l755f_rtrmadp_3_california-wildfire.jpg Vehicles are seen along Interstate 80 amid the LNU Lighting Complex Fire on the outskirts of Vacaville, California. Photo: ReutersNearly two dozen massive wildfires are continuing to ravage parts of California, fuelled by high temperatures and ongoing lightning strikes, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) says. Including smaller blazes, crews are fighting a total of 560 wildfires across the state, California Governor Gavin Newsom said Friday. About 175,000 people were told to leave their homes, although many in the community around Vacaville between Sacramento and San Francisco have been allowed to return. In Santa Cruz, a city of around 65,000 people on California's central coast, residents were told to prepare "go bags" as bulldozers cut fire lines and flames came within a mile of the University of California Santa Cruz campus.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 23, 2020 03:22 UTC