At least 23 wildfires raged in forests and woodlands across California Sunday, taking the life of one firefighter and forcing hundreds to flee their homes.
The biggest California wildfire — raging in the Lower Lake area north of San Francisco — spread overnight to cover even more drought-stricken ground, expanding more than 30 square miles in four or five hours, said California’s Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott. The fast-moving blaze had charred 84 square miles by Sunday, an area much bigger than San Francisco’s 49 square miles. It is only 5 percent contained.
The fire has destroyed 24 homes and 26 outbuildings and was threatening 6,300 homes. Cal Fire says an evacuation advisory has been issued affecting 12,000 people in a sweeping region of ranches and small rural communities. Several roads have been closed. At least 650 residents have been evacuated from their homes as the blaze raged in hills covered in dense brush and oak trees and dotted with ranch homes.
“We saw it behind our house. We saw the smoke pouring over. So we just started collecting stuff and we left, to find out later that everyone was evacuated out here,” said resident Julie Flannery. When her family returned Friday, they found their two horses and one mule were gone. They hoped firefighters turned them loose so they could make their way to safety. “The rest of this is just material stuff,” she said. “The animals and the family is the most important.”
Approximately 9,000 firefighters were working across northern California to subdue the blazes, a task made incredibly difficult by several years of drought that have dried out the state.
From Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/03/more-than-20-wildfires-burn-in-california-forcing-hundreds-to-flee/