Residents of Lake County were just beginning to recover from a deadly series of wildfires that destroyed more than a thousand homes last summer when a firestorm this weekend blazed a new path of destruction and despair through the rural pocket of Northern California.
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Cal Fire Incident Commander Barry Biermann says the blaze in Lower Lake about 90 miles north of San Francisco grew 50 acres away from homes and into an area scorched by a wildfire a year ago. Lawns in front of Lower Lake’s modest, one-story homes are brown, matching the wildland grasses on the mountains outside town.
The fire moved towards Morgan Valley Road but around 6 p.m. the wind reversed direction pushing flames back towards Clayton Creek Road. “It’s not like someone threw a cigarette butt out the window”.
The progress came as authorities arrested Damin Anthony Pashilk, 40, of Clearlake, California, on 17 counts of arson Monday.
Neither sheriff’s deputies nor Cal Fire had released details about why they suspected Damin Anthony Pashilk or what evidence led them to believe the fires were deliberately set, or for which ones they believe he is responsible. Pashilk was born in San Francisco and says he is a construction worker.
The fire erupted Tuesday and quickly grew to 1,500 acres. But then, winds picked up and sent embers flying over firefighters heads, causing the fire to take off and turn into a structure-destroying conflagration.
“This fire is burning in significantly different terrains at multiple elevation levels”, making it hard to fight, Sherwin said. “Did he admit it or did someone rat him out?” “I didn’t want to leave in case we get an opportunity, I mean if there’s an opportunity for me to get in, I’ll get in there”, he said.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. (AP) – Crews gained ground on a massive wildfire that destroyed 175 homes, businesses and other structures in a small California town while charring almost 7 square miles, fire officials said Tuesday.
“This county, to be honest with you, has gone through hell”, Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott said Monday night. These people lost homes.
It was just 5 percent contained, though late in the day fire officials said no other structures were under direct threat.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday approved California’s request for a fire management assistance grant.
That blaze killed four people and destroyed more than 1,300 homes. Cal Fire has said the Soberanes Fire was caused by a person who lit an illegal campfire.
That fire connected with a third, the Jerusalem Fire, last August.
The Big Sur blaze is one of six large wildfires in the state.
The weekend’s Clayton Fire was burning within a mile of the borders of the Rocky Fire.
Lake County News has a post providing information for people hoping to make monetary donations to aid those affected by the fire. Lower Lake High survived the Clayton Fire, but the school sits adjacent to homes that were scorched to rubble in the fire.
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“The end result was the county was left with a giant mountain of goods that had to be disposed of”, Huchingson told the crowd at a meeting at Twin Pine Casino and Hotel in Middletown.
