Higher temperatures increase the chances of flare ups in fire areas that were already controlled, CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant told Fox News.
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On Friday, fire officials had reported 365 homes burned.
The Valley Fire has consumed 585 homes as while raging through Lake, Napa and Sonoma Counties over the course of a week.
There were more than 4,200 firefighters assigned to the Valley Fire as of this morning, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
As crews continue to make good progress on the fire, residents are slowly being allowed to return home with more mandatory evacuations being lifted every day. Firefighters say it’s now 48 percent contained.
After hearing the name of a friend, Mark McCloud, broadcast on the radio in a report on people missing in the Butte fire, Glenn Wharregard drove up to the burn zone, determined to find him.
The so-called Valley Fire, which is north of the wine-producing region of Napa Valley, has burned 74,500 acres (29,946 hectares), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), or more than double the size of San Francisco.
After almost a week of getting by with just the bare essentials and items they could fit in the trunk of their auto , hundreds of Middletown residents were allowed back into their neighborhoods on Saturday. It was 49 percent contained after destroying 252 homes.
The number of homes destroyed by two large Northern California wildfires surpassed 1,000 Saturday, following damage assessments in the Sierra Nevada foothills by authorities that found an additional 250 destroyed houses as flames threaten thousands more.
County Supervisor Jim Comstock, 65, who lives in Middletown, said he didn’t receive an evacuation order and he believes authorities didn’t have time to issue orders in person, given the fire’s speed.
Heat was descending again on the 2 deadly and destructive Northern California wildfires after a few days of fair and favorable conditions, raising fears that major gains could be undone.
“You get the feeling of ‘what’s next and why?’ ” said the Rev. Randy Brehms of Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has become one of several tent cities for evacuees.
“Someone tried to break in last night, so I’m going to stay here and protect what little we have left”, said Bracisco, a county correctional officer who helped fight the fire and direct traffic during the blaze.
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Until the fire destroyed it, you could dip naked at Harbin Hot Springs Retreat. The 69,438-acre Rocky Fire destroyed 43 homes.
