PhOtOs-Thousands Flee in California >Wildfire DOUBLES
 

Thousands Flee Their Homes in Northern California as Wildfire DOUBLES in Size
> Just Days After a Separate Blaze Claimed The Life of a Forest Ranger

More than 12,000 people have received mandatory evacuation orders or advisories as 9,000 firefighters tackle blaze

Fire sweeping across Northern California has ripped through 54,000 acres of canyons and foothills near Lower Lake

Separate blaze that killed a U.S. forest ranger on Thursday near the Oregon border has also expanded, officials say

Daily Mail UK, 3 August 2015


A wildfire raging through Northern California's coastal mountains has more than doubled in size forcing thousands from their homes.The blaze, now in its fifth day, has ripped through 54,000 acres of canyons and foothills east of Lower Lake, 110 miles north of San Francisco leaving dozens of buildings in charred ruins.

More than 12,000 people have either been ordered to evacuate or urged to leave their homes as 9,000 firefighters battle to contain 20 fierce wildfires across California.

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Blazing: The blaze, now in its fifth day, has ripped through 54,000 acres of canyons and foothills east of Lower Lake, 110 miles north of San Francisco

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Exhaustion: More than 9,000 firefighters have been battling to contain 20 fierce wildfires across California. Crew members are pictured taking a rest near Clear Lake

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Charred ruins: The fire has ripped through canyons and foothills destroying dozens of cars, homes and outbuildings along the way

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Lone fight: Firefighter Joe Darr is pictured dousing flames of the Rocky fire along Highway 20 near Clear Lake, California


A separate blaze that killed a U.S. forest ranger on Thursday near the Oregon border has also expanded, but remains a fraction of the size of the so-called Rocky Fire that erupted in Lake County on Wednesday and has proved the most destructive.

'This is a very fast-moving wildfire,' said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, or Cal Fire.

Some 20,000 acres of scrub oak and brush ravaged by the fire over a five-hour period on Saturday night represented 'unprecedented growth in that short amount of time', he added.

By Sunday evening, the blaze had blackened another 7,000 acres along the rugged eastern flanks of California's Northern Coast Ranges, officials said.


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Jet power: An air tanker drops fire retardant to keep the Rocky fire from jumping Highway 20 near Clear Lake, California

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Some 20,000 acres of scrub oak and brush ravaged by the fire over a five-hour period on Saturday night represented 'unprecedented growth in that short amount of time', officials say

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After destroying 24 homes and 26 outbuildings last week, the fire continued to threaten an estimated 6,300 structures and has forced the closure of parts of two state highways

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Wayne Fischer describes what his home used to look like before it was burned to the ground by the Rocky fire near Clear Lake. Thousands of firefighters battled raging wildfires Sunday in drought-parched California

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After the blaze: Burned trees were all that were left along a dirt road near where homes were lost as a result of the Rocky fire


After destroying 24 homes and 26 outbuildings last week, the fire continued to threaten an estimated 6,300 structures and has forced the closure of parts of two state highways, Cal Fire said.

More than 12,000 people have received mandatory evacuation orders or advisories, while ground crews have managed to carve containment lines around just five percent of the fire's perimeter in the past two days, officials said.
Around 2,700 personnel were battling the Rocky Fire alone by Sunday night, about a third of the state's total force.


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Fighting fire with fire: Cal Fire Captain Josh Kitchens shoots a flare gun to ignite a backfire while battling the blaze, which has doubled in size in recent days

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Stocking up: Shoppers load groceries in to their car as smoke from the Rocky fire blows across a supermarket in Clear Lake

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Menacing: Around 2,700 personnel were battling the Rocky Fire alone by Sunday night, about a third of the state's total force

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Ground crews have managed to carve containment lines around just five percent of the fire's perimeter in the past two days, officials said

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Kofawn Jones (center) shakes hands with a police officer while preparing to evacuate as the Rocky fire approaches his home in Clear Lake


Cal Fire chief Ken Pimlott said 'well over 20 wildfires' were roaring across the drought-parched state following thousands of lightning strikes in recent days.

'We're certainly stretching our resources,' he told CNN on Sunday, adding that National Guard troops had been mobilized, along with reinforcements from other states and the U.S. Forest Service.

A Forest Service firefighter from South Dakota, David Ruhl, 38, died on Thursday in the Frog Fire raging through Modoc National Forest near California's border with Oregon.
That blaze, which was about four percent contained on Sunday, has devoured 3,900 acres as erratic winds pushed the flames in all directions, the Forest Service reported.


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Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott said 'well over 20 wildfires' were roaring across the drought-parched state following thousands of lightning strikes in recent days

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A team of four firefighters monitor a backfire as it blazes in a canyon below a road near Clear Lake in Northern California yesterday

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As well as aerial support, national Guard troops have been mobilized, along with reinforcements from other states and the U.S. Forest Service


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