While most Americans were gathering at home to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, some Californians were warned to evacuate theirs due to an ongoing fire.
Residents of Riverside County were visited for the holidays by 100 firefighting personnel, 28 fire engines, and two dozers on Thursday night due to the Canyon Crest Fire raging through the area.
The Canyon Crest fire was first reported on Saturday evening, and as of five hours ago is still at zero percent containment, according to the San Bernardino Fire Department (SBFD).
The SBFD first started posting about the fire 10 hours ago when they reported that a vegetation fire was spreading through the area.
After that, they sent out several posts noting that the fire was spreading quickly. Three hours after their first post, they reposted news from the Riverside County Fire Department, who said the fire had spread across 85 acres, leading to the fire department setting up a care and reception center at Jurupa Valley High School for people affected by the blaze.
According to the X account California Wildfire Tracking, as of 55 minutes ago the fire reached 250 acres, and two more zones have been added to the evacuation warning.
As of the SBFD's latest post, the cause of the fire is under investigation, and is yet to be determined.
The Canyon Crest fire is burning across Riverside County at the same time as other parts of the country are being hit with winter storm fronts.
Michigan, Alaska, Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are all expecting to receive as much as two feet of snow over Thanksgiving weekend, and drivers in New York were warned by Governor Kathy Hochul to pack extra blankets and flashlights in case they get stranded in the snow and ice while driving.
Texans are also bracing for a cold freeze to sweep their state, with the cities of Midland, Odessa, Monahans, Marathon, Big Spring, Fort Stockton, and Stanton, as well as Big Bend National Park, Panther Junction, McCamey, Crane, Snyder, Garden City, Big Lake, Rankin, Colorado City, and Kermit, all expected to experience temperatures plummeting below 24 degrees this morning.
Other Southern states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, Georgia, Florida and North and South Carolina were issued freeze warnings by the National Weather Service (NWS), as they are expected to be hit by the same cold front as Texas.
Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com
English (US) ·