Kemo
09-13-2015, 04:23 AM
A fast-moving wildfire in California's Sierra Nevada mountains destroyed homes and threatened about 6,400 residences on Saturday even as another blaze injured four firefighters in the state, fire officials said.
The so-called Butte Fire has destroyed 15 structures in rural Amador and Calaveras counties, where it covers an estimated 64,728 acres (26,195 hectares), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) spokeswoman Lynn Tolmachoff said. It is only 10 percent contained.
The fire grew overnight after officials initially overestimated the area of the blaze on Friday, Tolmachoff said.
Tolmachoff said she expects the tally of destroyed homes to grow as inspectors assess the damage on Saturday. Thousands of residents in the area were required to evacuate on Friday.
"There are a lot of homes there, but they're spread pretty far and wide," Tolmachoff said.
About 3,300 firefighters are working to contain the fire, which erupted on Wednesday and spread late on Friday near the former gold mining town of Jackson.
About 100 miles (161 km) to the northwest, the so-called Valley Fire on Saturday injured four firefighters in Lake County where they had been combating the fast-moving, 400-acre (162-hectare) blaze, said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant.
The four firefighters were assigned to a helicopter and had been dropped off to build containment lines when the fire burned them, Berlant said.
They were flown by helicopter to a burn center, he said, and their conditions were not immediately known.
Flames from a larger Sierra Nevada blaze, dubbed the Rough Fire in central California, speeded north toward McKenzie Ridge, where firefighters continued to strengthen containment lines on Saturday, said Jim Schwarber, spokesman for the fire's incident management team.
About 3,500 people were affected by a mandatory evacuation in the area.
He said low humidity, steep terrain and upslope wind have made the blaze harder to control.
The fire was in the northern part of a famed grove of giant sequoia trees in Kings Canyon National Park on Saturday, but Schwarber said the giant sequoias were less of a concern because they are naturally flame-resistant and more protected.
More than 2,500 firefighters were on the front lines of the blaze on Saturday, and containment was listed at 29 percent.
Ranking as California's largest active fire, the Rough has scorched about 128,800 acres (52,000 hectares) and forced evacuations of park staff and visitors from a large swath of Kings Canyon.
The so-called Butte Fire has destroyed 15 structures in rural Amador and Calaveras counties, where it covers an estimated 64,728 acres (26,195 hectares), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) spokeswoman Lynn Tolmachoff said. It is only 10 percent contained.
The fire grew overnight after officials initially overestimated the area of the blaze on Friday, Tolmachoff said.
Tolmachoff said she expects the tally of destroyed homes to grow as inspectors assess the damage on Saturday. Thousands of residents in the area were required to evacuate on Friday.
"There are a lot of homes there, but they're spread pretty far and wide," Tolmachoff said.
About 3,300 firefighters are working to contain the fire, which erupted on Wednesday and spread late on Friday near the former gold mining town of Jackson.
About 100 miles (161 km) to the northwest, the so-called Valley Fire on Saturday injured four firefighters in Lake County where they had been combating the fast-moving, 400-acre (162-hectare) blaze, said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant.
The four firefighters were assigned to a helicopter and had been dropped off to build containment lines when the fire burned them, Berlant said.
They were flown by helicopter to a burn center, he said, and their conditions were not immediately known.
Flames from a larger Sierra Nevada blaze, dubbed the Rough Fire in central California, speeded north toward McKenzie Ridge, where firefighters continued to strengthen containment lines on Saturday, said Jim Schwarber, spokesman for the fire's incident management team.
About 3,500 people were affected by a mandatory evacuation in the area.
He said low humidity, steep terrain and upslope wind have made the blaze harder to control.
The fire was in the northern part of a famed grove of giant sequoia trees in Kings Canyon National Park on Saturday, but Schwarber said the giant sequoias were less of a concern because they are naturally flame-resistant and more protected.
More than 2,500 firefighters were on the front lines of the blaze on Saturday, and containment was listed at 29 percent.
Ranking as California's largest active fire, the Rough has scorched about 128,800 acres (52,000 hectares) and forced evacuations of park staff and visitors from a large swath of Kings Canyon.