California firefighters have successfully brought a large wildfire under control near Los Angeles after a tropical storm brought rain and cooler temperatures. The Fairview fire, which killed two people, was 40% contained on Saturday.
It broke out on Monday amid a heat wave that is affecting the southwestern United States, burning 11,300 hectares and destroying more than 20 buildings, fire officials said.
The remnants of Storm Kay, which made landfall in Mexico Thursday as a hurricane before moving north on the Pacific coast, brought rains that helped calm the blaze.
“Fire intensity has been significantly reduced due to humidity from Tropical Storm Kay,” a statement from Cal Fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said.
Floods and mudslides
Authorities have warned, however, that the rains pose a risk of flash flooding and mudslides in areas where scorched soil cannot absorb excess water.
“We could go from a fire suppression event to heavy rain with water rescues and mudslides,” a fire official said Friday.
The western United States has been experiencing a historic drought for more than two decades, which scientists say is worsened by human-induced climate change. Much of the territory is parched and overgrown, creating the conditions for wildfires.
/ATS