美国有线新闻 CNN 美国加州山火肆虐 干旱助长火势蔓延

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0002:22repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser 1 to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. We're starting today's ten minutes of news coverage 2 in the U.S. state of California. There are currently nine large wildfires burning there. Tens of thousands of acres have been destroyed, hundreds of buildings and homes have been lost, and almost ten thousand firefighters are involved in trying to stop the blazes.

This state is no stranger to these disasters. Throughout the summer, lightning strikes, camp fires, sometimes arson 3 sparks them. And the danger so widespread because about a third of California's homes are in areas prone 4 to wildfires, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Though this year season has been distracted, its fires are not setting records at this point. Still, a severe drought has parched 5 parts of California for years, combined with the warm, dry Santa Ana winds that blow westward 6 in the fall could make things worse.

Here's a perspective on one of the wildfires that's currently out of control.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This Blue Cut fire has been an erratic 7 blaze for firefighters to battle. That's because with the winds coming in, it is burning in multiple directions and it is also it has plenty of fuel as this is a real dried parched part of California, as we've been under drought conditions for several years now. We were talking to one fire official who's talking about the danger as well of these power lines that are out here. Listen to what he had to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These power lines are called KV lines and it's a huge concern for us, to have a high amount of electricity, hundreds of thousands of volts 8 in those KV lines. It impacts our aircraft. It makes it unsafe for aircraft to fly above them.

ELAM: And those embers are really a big concern because those spot fires can blow up into new branches of this fire and that is what they are concerned about. Thousands of people remained under evacuations, mandatory 9 evacuations. They're fighting this fire from the sky. Also, hand cruiser out there, as well as bulldozers to try to battle this blaze.

But let me just show what something that this fire has done. Take a look at this right here. This is a school bus where the fire has already run through, unbelievable the damage, how the wheels have been burned off, the glass broken out all by the blaze here.

And this you can see in this little community here, a little rural community, but obviously very devastating 10 for the people who live here to see much of what they own burned up and destroyed.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, San Bernardino County, California.