Los Ángeles — Los incendios del sur de California continúan su devastación, que ha dejado ya 100.000 personas evacuadas y 93.000 hectáreas calcinadas, y amenazan ahora las localidades costeras de Montecito y Carpinteria, en lo que es ya uno de los cinco mayores de la historia reciente del estado.
La superficie quemada es mayor ya que la de las ciudades de Nueva York y Boston combinadas.
Las autoridades informaron hoy de que en la pasada madrugada el fuego en los condados de Ventura y Santa Bárbara, los más violentos y que comenzaron el 4 de diciembre, apenas están contenidos en un 15 %.
Los pronósticos meteorológicos no ofrecen razones para el optimismo dado que no se prevé lluvia en la próxima semana y los fuertes vientos impulsan las llamas hacia la costa.
Según sus últimos datos, unos 9.000 bomberos están tratando de hacer frente a los cinco fuegos que aún permanecen activos en el sur de California.
Las ciudades del condado de Santa Bárbara, unos 160 kilómetros al oeste de Los Ángeles, están amenazadas por uno de los focos más potentes que permanecen activos y que ha sido bautizado como “Thomas”.
En los alrededores de Santa Bárbara, cerca de 85.000 viviendas se han quedado sin servicio eléctrico, indicó la compañía eléctrica Southern California Edison; y el rector del campus de la Universidad de California en la ciudad ordenó la suspensión de las clases.
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A huge plume of smoke rises north of Ventura as seen Sunday afternoon from the Ventura pier, as the Thomas fire threatens parts of Carpenteria and Montecito.
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Flames are visible behind homes in the mountains seen from the Casitas Pass Rd, east of Toro Canyon, in Carpinteria, Calif. on Sunday.
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Firefighters provide structure protection in the Shepard Mesa neighborhood as the Thomas Fire rages out of control overnight in Carpinteria, Calif. on Sunday.
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A helicopter makes a water drop as flames make its way up the Shepard Mesa neighborhood in Carpinteria, Calif. on Sunday.
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A firefighter monitors the Thomas fire in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai.
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The Thomas fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai.
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Firefighters remove debris blocki Maripoca Highway outside of Ojai.
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The remnants of a bus and a car after the Thomas fire swept through residential neighborhoods near Ojai.
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A burnt-out bus near Maripoca Highway.
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Casey Rodriquez helps a friend move belongings after the Thomas Fire destroyed most of an apartment building on North Kalarama in Ventura.
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Santa Barbara Battalion Chief Jim McCoy calls for support as he monitors spot fires on the Ocean side of the 101 Freeway at Faria Beach.
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Jeff Rodriquez, left, and his son, Casey, help a friend move belongings after the Thomas Fire destroyed most of the apartment building on North Kalarama in Ventura Friday.
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Firefighters battle Thursday to protect the resort city of Ojai from encroaching flames.
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A man walks along Ventura Ave. as the Thomas Fire leaves a thick layer of smoke in Ventura Friday.
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Smoke rises from the Thomas fire over the Ventura Harbor at sunset.
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People brave the rooftops to extinguish embers from spot fires between the 101 Freeway and Faria Beach as the Thomas fire threatens homes.
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Burned palm trees are left standing between the 101 Freeway and Faria Beach as the Thomas fire reaches the Pacific Ocean.
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A towering cloud of smoke from the Thomas fire frames cars on the 101 Freeway at the Conejo Grade in Ventura County.
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A resident cries as the Thomas fire approaches the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire in the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
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The Thomas fire burns along the 101 Freeway north of Ventura on Wednesday evening.
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A train on the Rincon coast passes a burning hillside from the Thomas fire.
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Fire personnel keep an eye on the Thomas fire on Toland Road near Santa Paula.
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The Thomas fire burns towards the 101 Freeway and homes between Solimar and Faria Beaches.
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A traffic collision temporarily clogged lanes on the northbound 101 Freeway between Solimar and Faria Beaches as the Thomas fire burned in the hills.
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Jeff Lipscomb, left, Gabriel Lipscomb, 17, center, and Rachel Lipscomb, 11, look for items to recover from their burned home in Ventura.
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Edward Aguilar runs through the flames of the Thomas Fire to save his cats at his mobile home along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs in Ventura County.
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
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Firefighters try to protect homes from the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
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Embers continue to burn at sunset Tuesday in a home on Ridgecrest Court at Scenic Way in the Clearpoint neighborhood of Ventura.
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Chino Valley firefighters fight to save a home along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
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Amanda Leon and husband Johnny Leon watch as firefighters fight to save homes along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
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A home between Via Baja and Foothill Road burns in Ventura.
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Aerial view of homes burned to the ground in the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
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Ventura County Firefighter Aaron Cohen catches his breath after fighting to save homes along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
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A Ventura County firefighter battles a blaze on Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
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Smoke from the Thomas fire crosses over Lake Casitas near Ojai.
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Noah Alarcon carries a cage with the family cat while evacuating from Casitas Springs.
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Aerial view of the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
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Olivia Jacobson, 16, wipes tears as she looks at her family’s home, destroyed by the brush fire on Island View Drive in Ventura.
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Emma Jacobson, 19, center, gets a hug from a neighbor after her family home was destroyed by fire in Ventura.
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A resident evacuates a horse along Nye Road as the Thomas fire approaches in Casita Springs in Ventura County.
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Tyler Mobley, left, and his father, Mike Mobley, walk by a burned house in their Clear Point neighborhood in Ventura. The Mobleys’ house survived.
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Palms are consumed in the Thomas fire.
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A home burns on a hillside overlooking Ventura.
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Remnants of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
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A chimney is all that stands of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
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Firefighters are deployed to battle the fire in a Ventura neighborhood.
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Residents watch the Thomas fire on Prospect Street in Ventura.
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Residents help with the fire attack on Buena Vista Street in Ventura.
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The Hawaiian Gardens apartments burn in Ventura.
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Strangers band together to help put out a palm tree on fire and stop it from burning homes.
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John Bain and his friends, all from Camarillo, came to help as brush fires move quickly through residential neighborhoods in Ventura.
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John Bain and Brandon Baker try to stop a fire from burning a stranger’s home in Ventura.
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A family packs up and evacuates as a brush fire gets closer to their home in Ventura.
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A brush fire moving with the wind sends embers all over residential neighborhoods north of Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Asimismo, esta madrugada las autoridades ordenaron la evacuación de las localidades de Carpintería, con 13.000 habitantes; y de Montecito, donde viven 9.000 habitantes y es hogar de estrellas de Hollywood como Jeff Bridges o las televisivas Oprah Winfrey y Ellen DeGeneres.
“Nuestra casa está en riesgo de ser alcanzada por las llamas. Hemos tenido que evacuar a nuestras mascotas. Estamos rezando por todos en nuestra comunidad y agradecidos a todos los increíbles bomberos”, dijo DeGeneres en su cuenta de Twitter.
Por su parte, el condado vecino de Ventura fue el trágico escenario de la única muerte confirmada hasta ahora por los fuegos.
El centro médico del condado de Ventura confirmó el viernes la muerte de una mujer de 70 años, originaria de la localidad de Santa Paula y que, cuando trataba de escapar, sufrió un accidente en el coche en el que viajaba, lo que le provocó graves heridas y le hizo inhalar gran cantidad de humo.
“Es diciembre, y es increíble decir que todavía no estamos fuera de la temporada de incendios”, dijo el jefe de bomberos de California, Ken Pimlott, en declaraciones al diario Los Ángeles Times.
Pimlott subrayó la dificultad que supone tener que asumir que “es un desafío que dura toda el año”.
Este está siendo el peor año de incendios forestales desde que se tiene registro en California, debido especialmente a los 250 grandes fuegos registrados en octubre pasado en varios condados del norte del estado y que asolaron buena parte de las reconocidas regiones vitivinícolas de Napa y Sonoma.
Esos fuegos costaron la vida a 44 personas y destruyeron cerca de 8.900 viviendas y estructuras, según el recuento final de Cal Fire.
El gobernador de California, el demócrata Jerry Brown, advirtió el domingo tras visitar algunas de las zonas arrasadas que el cambio climático está convirtiendo los incendios en “la nueva norma” en California.
“Estamos a punto de tener que realizar labores de extinción de incendios en Navidad. Esto es muy raro e inusual”, agregó el gobernador.
Las autoridades consideran que estos últimos fuegos podrían tener ya un coste económico de más de 25 millones para el sur de California, donde numeroso cultivos de cítricos han sido reducidos a cenizas, según los cálculos preliminares.
El presidente Donald Trump declaró el viernes el estado de emergencia para California, lo que permite el envío de asistencia federal.