California's desolating Carr Fire was started by a flat tire
The Carr Fire in northern California has burned more than 130,000 acres in a two-week span, killing six people, displacing 35,000, and destroying more than 1,500 buildings. And it all started with a flat tire.
A "tire failed last month on a trailer and its rim scraped the asphalt," CNN reported Saturday. "The sparks that shot out July 23 from that minor incident, California fire officials said, ignited what is now the sixth-most destructive wildfire in state history."
As of Saturday, the Carr Fire is 39 percent contained, and firefighting reinforcements are coming to California from as far as New Zealand. "Whatever resources are needed, we're putting them there," said California Gov. Jerry Brown. "We're being surprised. Every year is teaching the fire authorities new lessons. We're in uncharted territory."
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Watch footage of the wildfire's total destruction below. Bonnie Kristian
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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