California wildfire spreads
A firefighter sprays water as flames from a wildfire consume a residence Sunday near Oroville, Calif. Winds drove the fire through several neighborhoods, threatening homes in its path.
OROVILLE, Calif. — Wildfires barreled across the baking California landscape on Sunday, forcing more than 7,500 people to flee.
About 60 miles north of Sacramento, 4,000 people evacuated and another 7,400 were told to prepare to leave their homes as fire swept through grassy foothills in the Sierra Nevada, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Sunday.
The fire burned nearly 8 square miles, destroyed at least 10 structures and damaged critical infrastructure, leading Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency.
In southern California, at least 3,500 people evacuated as two fires exploded in size at separate ends of Santa Barbara County about 90 miles west of Los Angeles, and a third one threatened homes near a town in San Luis Obispo County about 100 miles to the north.
One of the fires grew to 12 square miles, traversing a mountain range and heading south toward coastal Goleta west of Santa Barbara.
Flames shut down California Route 154, which is expected to remain closed for days. At least 20 structures burned, but officials didn’t say if they were homes.