California wildfires destroy more than 1400 homes with at least 6 deaths

It was one of the worst wildfires and more than 1,400 homes have been destroyed in these wildfires currently burning in California. As per officials, these were among the worst ever in the state. The death toll rose to six after a person was killed in a new fire south of Monterrey.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 21 September 2015.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), which said 10,500 firefighters were currently deployed to contain the Valley fire and the Butte fire, in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Each of the fires in the Valley and Butte are believed to have burned more than 70,000 acres (28,000 hectares) – the fires were approximately half and 70 percent contained, respectively.
Mandatory evacuations for the Butte fire which was burning about 100 miles east of Sacramento, were lifted Sunday. Similarly, for some areas affected by the Valley fire, north of Napa Valley`s wine country.
The Valley and Butte fires had become the sixth and seventh worst, respectively, in the state`s history. The fires has razed parts of small, rural towns. In contrast, the most damaging fire was the 1991 Tunnel fire that tore through the heavily populated hills above Oakland. 25 persons were killed and some 2,900 homes and apartment buildings were destroyed.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Farmers in California face severe water cuts due to drought

Regulators in California have ordered farmers and others who hold some of the state’s strongest water rights to stop pumping from three major waterways in one of the country’s prime farm regions. These are in the Sacramento, San Joaquin and delta watersheds. These waterways provide water to farms and cities in the agricultural-rich Central Valley and beyond.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 13 June 2015.

This restriction is in addition to water curtailment announced earlier this year to cities and towns and to farmers with less iron-clad water rights.
This would be the first time since the drought of 1977 that the state has directed a significant number of senior water rights holders to stop pumping because of the present day drought.
The water cuts would affect a whole lot of farmers – like in the San Joaquin area where small families grow permanent crops like apricots and walnuts. They do not have any back-up supplies in wells or reservoirs. As a result, plenty of trees would wither away and die, and a lot of people would go out of business.
Farmers have to realize and accept the fact that the curtailments are not being done by choice but are a reaction to the reality that water supply is shrinking.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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