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California Wildfires: Thousands Flee as Valley and Butte Blazes Force Evacuations (Video)
California Wildfires: Thousands Flee as Valley and Butte Blazes Force Evacuations
13 Sep 15
4 firefighters severely burned in massive wildfire in Northern California
Wildfires: California governor declares state of emergency
Hundreds of buildings have been lost to a fast-moving Northern wildfire that had forced thousands to flee Sunday, and hospitalized four firefighters with second-degree burns.
The so-called Valley Fire in Lake County, northwest of Sacramento, erupted early Saturday afternoon and rapidly burned through brush and trees parched from several years of drought, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
The fire spread quickly, growing from 50 acres to 400 acres just before 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) Saturday, to 40,000 acres at 1:30 a.m. (4:30am ET) Sunday. Entire towns as well as residents along a 35-mile stretch of highway were ordered to flee their homes.
“In some cases residents only had minutes to evacuate,” said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant.
Berlant said Sunday that the day-old fire has destroyed hundreds of buildings, but the fire is raging so viciously that authorities can’t yet determine exactly how many structures have burned.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Lake County Sunday, less than 24 hours after the fire sparked, and Cal Fire called all personnel to report to duty, canceling any previously scheduled days off. One thousand firefighters were dedicated to battling the Valley blaze as of Sunday morning, and Berlant said more were on the way.
The department called all Cal Fire personnel to report to duty, canceling any previously scheduled days off.
The four injured firefighters, who were members of a helicopter crew, were in a stable condition at UC Davis Medical Center, according to Cal Fire.
The fire destroyed homes and buildings as it burned through the town of Middletown, where authorities told NBC News that fire hydrants had run dry. Explosions could be heard all over town as propane tanks burst into flames, indicating that another building was being engulfed in fire. Read more
