The American West is having a scorching summer, much as usual. Some 20,000 firefighters are fighting over 100 fires, from Montana to California. Northeast of the Golden State, the Dixie Fire, de ...

In California, the gigantic Dixie fire devastates Greenville

Pushed by winds of 60 kilometers per hour, Dixie Fire burned 20,000 hectares overnight Wednesday through Thursday, devastating at Greenville Passage, here on August 5, 2021. REUTERS - FRED GREAVES

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

The American West is having a scorching summer, much as usual.

Some 20,000 firefighters are fighting over 100 fires, from Montana to California.

Northeast of the

Golden State

, the

Dixie Fire

, started three weeks ago after a problem on a power line, has not claimed any victims but has already devastated 130,000 hectares of vegetation.

It is the sixth biggest fire in the history of a state which has yet known many others.

The

Dixie Fire

is only 35% contained.

Publicity

With our correspondent in Las Vegas,

Loïc Pialat

"We did everything we could but sometimes it is not enough

not

Mitch Matlow, spokesperson for the firefighters, recognizes the helplessness of his people in the face of the

Dixie Fire

Pushed by winds of 60 kilometers per hour, the fire burned 20,000 hectares overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, devastating Greenville Passage, a small town born during the gold rush.

A column of smoke 10,000 meters above the ground

The main street looks like it has been bombed.

Buildings, some centenarians, have been reduced to ashes.

At the Pioneer Café, only the brick walls still stand.

The nearby gas station is destroyed.

Even the streetlights were bent by the heat of the flames.

Unfortunately, the #DixieFire destroyed most of #greenville today.

More pix here: https://t.co/zpEFuvqu7N @AFPphoto pic.twitter.com/qhgKKgJvpW

- Josh Edelson (@JoshEdelson) August 5, 2021

This gives an idea of the force of this fire, capable of creating its own climate, under a column of smoke which rises 10,000 meters above a dry and hot ground.

►

To read also:
Giant fires in California: "This phenomenon generates its own winds which feed the fire"

Several evacuation orders were issued.

Authorities on Thursday asked residents of the towns of Taylorsville and Westwood, south and north of Greenville, to leave their homes for protection.

DIXIE FIRE

EVACUATION

WARNING

8.5.21 3:00 pm

BCSO is issuing an EVACUATION WARNING for the Bald Mountain area, which is in North / Eastern Concow, due to the Dixie Fire.

This includes Bald Mountain, east to the Butte / Plumas County Line, and Bald Mountain, south to Oak Point.

pic.twitter.com/KkLlT6Q9Yn

- Butte County Sheriff (@ButteSheriff) August 5, 2021

While they have struggled to control the

Dixie Fire

for three weeks, the 5,000 firefighters mobilized must now face two other major fires in the region.

The number of acres burned in California was up 250% at the end of July from 2020, which was already the worst year for fires in recent state history.

The Dixie Fire is painfully reminiscent of the Paradise Fire of 2018, the deadliest fire for California in recent years, recalls Agence France Presse.

In California, the gigantic Dixie fire devastates Greenville

In California, the gigantic Dixie fire devastates Greenville

A column of smoke 10,000 meters above the ground

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