Multiple lightning strike California causing more than 560 fires across the state

Emergency situation in California 

• The current Heat Wave in the United States has smoldered the population with temperatures expected to reach more than 90-degree Fahrenheit but took an extreme form in California.
• On 17th August, the intense heatwave in California aggravated and sparked flashes of lightning causing multiple wildfires throughout the state. The multi-day wildfires have burnt nearly 1.3 million acres of land so far.
• In California's Wine Country, the LNU Lightning Complex fire is relentless and has burned more than 500 square miles — an area 11 times the size of San Francisco — and has destroyed nearly 900 structures.
• The National Weather Services issued red-flag warnings across large Northern and Central California where the SCU Lightning Complex fire is 340,000 acres and growing.
• They are seen as the second and third largest fires in California history, expected to grow in the next few days as a new thunderstorm system moves over the state.
• According to the Cal Fire officer, more than 140,000 firefighters are on the front line. 

Reasons behind the Fires 

• Because of the hot and dry weather conditions in California, the state has previously experienced wildfires which are aggravated by the Diablo winds in the Northern part of the state and Santa Ana winds in the Southern part, but because of climate change, the year 2020 has been devastating for the state.
• The extreme heat is seen due to a strong and persistent high-pressure system present above the U.S, often called a heat dome where the heat gets trapped at the surface. These heat waves are expected to grow stronger because of climate change.

New laws on WILDFIRES 

In 2019 itself, California adopted 22 laws aimed at preventing and fighting the devastating wildfires that have scorched large areas of the state in recent years and killed thousands of people.

Below are the laws that came into effect with the start of 2020.

• AB1432- This law allows the water department to declare an emergency shortage in case of a wildfire without consulting the public.
• AB38- Homes built before 1st January 2020 need to be retrofitted with standards prescribed by the State Fire Marshal to prevent more homes from burning with the help of other agencies.
• AB188- It creates one rule for determining the value of property damage and partial losses in insurance policies (thus covering rebuilding measures as well) 

Do you think that Climate Change is an important issue that needs urgent redressal?
What are your views on the Californian fires?
Mention in the comments below.