10,000 US homes threatened as wildfires advance across state
TWIN WILDFIRES are threatening some 10,000 homes in Northern California in a seemingly endless summer of blazes that have ravaged scenic areas of the state.
The two fires straddling Mendocino and Lake counties had burned seven homes by Monday night along with some 107 square miles of rural land.
About 100 miles north, the socalled Carr Fire which has burned more than 800 homes and killed six people, has become the ninth most destructive wildfire in California history, said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
In Lake County, evacuation orders were in effect for the 4,700 residents of Lakeport, along with some smaller communities and a section of Mendocino National Forest. In all, some 10,000 people have been warned to flee.
Lakeport, north of San Francisco, is the county seat and a popular destination for bass anglers and boaters on the shores of Clear Lake. But by Monday night it was a ghost town, with the main streets deserted.
A few miles away, embers, ash and smoke swirled through vineyards where at least one home had gone up in flames.
Firefighters set blazes at the bottom of hills in order to burn up the tinder-dry brush before flames cresting the ridge tops could feed on it and surge downhill.
A fleet of aircraft made continuous water and fire retardant drops on the blaze.
Further north, police said five people were arrested on suspicion of entering areas evacuated due to wildfires around Redding.
The blaze, which killed two firefighters and four civilians including two children, has now destroyed 818 homes and 311 outbuildings and damaged 165 homes, Mr McLean said.
More than 27,000 people remained evacuated from their homes although another 10,000 were allowed to return on Monday. Mr McLean said there was no guarantee of safety in a state that has been ravaged by years of drought.