The cause of the fire remains unknown.
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So far, emergency officials say the Clayton Fire hasn’t proven as damaging as the Valley Fire-despite having numerous same characteristics.
Monday afternoon, California Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, declared states of emergency for both the Chimney Fire and the Clayton Fire, which allows local authorities to receive help from emergency response agencies throughout the state.
The declaration issued Monday frees up state resources and temporarily sets aside regulations for fighting the fire and the recovery.
Photographs of a wildfire in Lake County in Northern California show massive devastation in the region. About 1,500 people live in Lower Lake, and Lake County is one of the poorest counties in the state. It has forced thousands of residents to evacuate and shut down schools in the area.
Wilsey said they saw an ominous smoke plume rising above their home in Lower Lake’s rolling hills before they fled.
“We’re safe, and we have each other”. With the Clayton Fire still raging to the east, and aerial tankers and firefighters doing their best to stop it, all the tired residents of Lower Lake can do is watch, worry and hope. Staff had been working to rebuild homes lost in last year’s fires.
PG&E de-energized the power lines as fire crews went into burn areas, to make it safer for them where downed power lines were nearly a certainty.
Fire crews battle the Clayton Fire in California which has destroyed almost 200 homes and businesses.
The fire is burning in an area that was hit hard by wildfires in 2015.
Retirees Denis and Carolyn Quinn evacuated once a year ago and again this weekend, when they grabbed family photos and fled the house they share just off Main Street with their adult daughter and granddaughter. It holds sentimental value to them too because the 3-bedroom place was big enough to allow them to a year ago adopt their three daughters.
The family is now staying with friends. Six of their goats are also with friends but 10 remain missing.
One of the first things Mary Henderson grabbed was a tote bag filled with her late son’s childhood books, blanket and other keepsakes. The 18-year-old took his life last year.
As winds abated on Sunday evening, crews made progress cutting containment lines around the flames and putting out hot spots, said Daniel Berlant of the California forestry department.
Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said Damin Anthony Pashilk, 40, of Clearlake was arrested Monday on 17 counts of arson and is in jail.
The Clayton fire, named for the creek near where it broke out, was driven by fierce winds into the foothill community of Lower Lake, 130km north of San Francisco, forcing hundreds of residents to flee.
A wildfire destroyed at least 10 homes and forced some 4,000 of people to flee their homes as flames jumped a road and moved into a Northern California town located miles away from a devastating wildfire almost a year ago.
The fire was creating its own weather pattern and shifted northward into Lower Lake in the afternoon, said Suzie Blankenship, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
No injuries or deaths have been reported so far in the new Lake County fire.
The flames jumped a road Sunday and moved into the town of 1,200 that’s still recovering from a devastating wildfire almost a year ago.
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Of the 175, at least 100 are homes. Another 1,500 homes continue to be threatened.
