Thousands flee as fires race across California
CLEARLAKE OAKS: Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California.
The Pawnee Fire, which broke out on Saturday near the community of Clearlake Oaks, has destroyed 12 buildings and threatened an additional 600.
As of Sunday, there was no containment and it burned across about 31sq km. Authorities ordered people to evacuate all homes in the Spring Valley area, where about 3,000 people live.
“What we’re stressing is that when people get the evacuation order, they need to heed it immediately and stay out until it is safe to return,” state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) Battalion Chief Jonathan Cox said.
“This is one of four large fires burning in Northern California.”
Erratic wind and heat gripping a swath of California from San Jose to the Oregon border drove the flames, which were north of the wine country region where wildfires killed 44 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses last October.
Further north, a fire spanning about three-quarters of a mile in Tehama County destroyed “multiple residential and commercial buildings,” Cal Fire said.
But firefighters appeared to be making good progress – the Stoll Fire was halfway contained and some evacuees were allowed to return home, authorities said.
A second fire in Tehama County consumed 14sq km.
The so-called Lane Fire threatened 200 structures and some homes had been evacuated, Cox said. A fire in neighboring Shasta County grew to 4.14sq km and was 20% contained. The so-called Creek Fire had damaged no structures, but did prompt evacuations.
The cause of each blaze was under investigation on Sunday. No one was reported hurt.