Calif. wildfires among largest in state history

SAN FRANCISCO — Lightningsparked wildfires in Northern California exploded in size Friday to become some of the largest in state history, forcing thousands to flee and destroying hundreds of homes and other structures as reinforcements began arriving to help weary firefighters.

More than 12,000 firefighters aided by helicopters and air tankers are battling wildfires throughout California. Three groups of fires, called complexes, burning north, east and south of San Francisco have together scorched 780 square miles, destroyed more than 500 structures and killed at least six people.

More than 140,000 people are under evacuation orders.

The number of personnel assigned to the sprawling LNU Complex — a cluster of blazes burning in the heart of wine country north of San Francisco — doubled to more than 1,000 firefighters Friday, Cal Fire Division Chief Ben Nicholls said.

“I’m happy to say there are resources all around the fire today. We have engines on all four sides of it working hand-in-hand with the bulldozers to start containing this fire, putting it to bed,” Nicholls aid.

The blazes, coming during a heat wave that has seen temperatures top 100 degrees, are taxing the state’s firefighting capacity, but assistance from throughout the country was beginning to arrive, with 10 states sending fire crews, engines and aircraft to help, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

“We have more people but it’s not enough. We have more air support but it’s still not enough and that’s why we need support from our federal partners,” Newsom said.

There are 560 fires burning in the state, many small and remote, but there are about two dozen major fires, mainly in Northern California. Many blazes were sparked by thousands of lightning strikes earlier in the week.

Tens of thousands of homes were threatened by flames that drove through dense and bonedry trees and brush. Some fires doubled in size within 24 hours, fire officials said.

With firefighting resources tight, homes in remote, hard-toget-to places burned unattended. CalFire Chief Mark Brunton pleaded with residents to quit battling fires on their own, saying that just causes more problems for the professionals.

“We had last night three separate rescues that pulled our vital, very few resources away,” he said.

Jose Carlos Fajardo / Associated Press Sarah Hawkins finds a vase in the rubble Thursday after her Vacaville, Calif., home was destroyed by a fire. The LNU Complex fires have killed at least six people and destroyed more than 500 structures as they have spread across 780 square miles.