As firefighters from throughout Lake County and the Bay Area struggle to contain the Clayton fire, a blaze that has now swollen to 4,000 acres and destroyed more than 175 buildings in the small town of Lower Lake, officials have announced the arrest of a man suspected of purposely setting the blaze.
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Someone actually SET the Clayton fire in Lake County, unleashing a bad blaze on the area that is still reeling from last year’s Valley Fire and the cops have him in custody.
A wildfire destroyed at least four homes and forced thousands of people in two Northern California towns to flee on Sunday as flames jumped a road and moved into populated areas.
“The Chico air attack base was involved from the beginning of when they started putting out that fire”, said Battalion Chief Matt Damon of Cal Fire Butte County. On Monday, Brown issued emergency declarations for the Clayton fire and another in Central California, the so-called Chimney fire.
Carlos Orta, right, of Santa Cruz Calfire douses the smoldering remains of a home in Lower Lake, Calif., Monday, Aug. 15, 2016.
As of last night, the Clayton Wildfire was just 5% contained.
Firefighters “made considerable progress” fighting the blaze Monday night, and this morning the blaze is 20 percent contained, officials said.
Elsewhere in drought-parched California, a wildfire exploding through canyons about 60 miles east of Los Angeles shut down a portion of the main highway between the region and Las Vegas, burned ranch buildings and prompted evacuations.
The Los Angeles Times reports Pashilk had been under investigation for almost a year and that officials say he’s responsible for other recent fires in the area. Pashilk was born in San Francisco and works in construction, according to his booking sheet on the Lake County Sheriff’s Office website.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the fire in Lower Lake, about a two-hour drive from San Francisco, was 35 percent contained Tuesday.
In Southern California, forecasters warned of high fire danger due to a heat wave and gusty winds.
A fast-moving wildfire threatened scores of homes at a Northern California lake community that was evacuated because of a devastating nearby wildfire previous year. 1,500 more structures are listed threatened.
After 1,500 acres burned previous year on the 1,700-acre ranch where Comstock grew up and still lives, he has cleared out brush to make fire breaks – a ritual familiar to other Californians who live in areas traditionally associated with wildfires. It burned through more than 30,189 hectares near scenic Big Sur, destroying 57 homes after it began on 22 July.
Mandatory evacuation calls went out to 34,506 homes with more than 82,600 people, ranging for the ski resort of Wrightwood to the sprawling high desert town of Phelan, with more than 14,000 residents. It continues to threaten more than 400 structures.
The hospital will remain closed until further notice, according to a statement obtained by Lake County News.
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“We just hunkered down and sat there and waited for the fire to blow over”, he said. “The trees are handsome, but when they catch fire, they carry fire”.
