A wildfire in northern California doubled in size since it started Saturday night, forcing evacuations and destroying at least four homes, fire officials said Sunday.
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The fire broke out around 5 p.m. It is spreading rapidly because of dry conditions brought on by California’s historic drought.
Although county fire’s equipment has been on the fire for three weeks, a new group of crews has been bused up to the blaze every seven days to relieve the county crews that have been working 24-hour shifts every other day, Macklin said.
Suzie Blankenship, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Sunday that 500 homes have been evacuated.
The flames threatened the houses of an additional 3,000 people in a subdivision, and they have been told to stay vigilant in case they need to evacuate, she said.
The wildfire is in the rugged hills of Lake County, which was devastated by one of California’s most destructive wildfires last September.
The fire, burning off Highway 29 and Clayton Creek south of Lower Lake, had grown to 400 acres as of 8:25 p.m, with Cal Fire reporting 20% containment.
Meanwhile in central California, a wildfire south of Lake Nacimiento has forced the evacuation of 135 homes. People have been forced to evacuate, but it wasn’t immediately known how many homes were affected.
Firefighters sought to contain a fast-moving wildfire near Lower Lake Saturday evening as hundreds of fire-weary Lake County residents were ordered to flee the area in the face of advancing flames, some for the second time this week.
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A plane aids in firefighting efforts as it makes a drop on a wildfire near Lower Lake, Calif., Saturday Aug. 13, 2016.
