California wildfire razes buildings, forces evacuations

Thousands of people rushed to escape a massive wildfire charging across the tinder-dry Sierra Nevada foothills and another out-of-control fire that broke out in Northern California on Saturday, sending four firefighters to the hospital with second-degree burns.

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The firefighters, all members of a helicopter crew, got burned while battling the 161-hectare blaze that began in Lake County, about 160 kilometres north of San Francisco, and forced the evacuation of a town of about 1,800, said Daniel Berlant, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman.

The firefighters were rushed to a hospital burn unit for treatment; where they were listed in stable condition, department spokesman Daniel Berlant said.

To the east, a blood-red sun pushed through a choking fog of smoke and ash that turned the grassy, tree-studded Sierra Nevada foothills about 112 kilometres southeast of Sacramento an eerie white. Away from the burned-out cars and smoldering remains of homes, Annette Stout and other residents who fled the flames rested at evacuation centres.

Stout was ordered from her house Friday afternoon, and for the first time since her husband's death in March, she drove their recreational vehicle to safety in Angels Camp, a quaint town made famous by Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Tale of the Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."

"I grabbed my cats, their carriers, important papers, my husband death's certificate and his ashes," said Stout, who lives in the community of Hathaway Pines.

Despite the outpouring of help at the centre set up at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds, she didn't sleep well.

"We knew we were safe here, but [I was] worrying about the house, worrying about those who didn't leave," she said.

'It's all burned up'

The blaze that ignited Wednesday exploded to more than 10,300 hectares in two days amid triple-digit temperatures and land parched from several years of drought. Crews increased containment slightly, but by noon the fire picked up again, fire officials said.

"It's very, very intense fire behavior, I mean it's record fire activity," said Julie Rider, a spokeswoman with the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department.

People were running for their lives.— Resident Michelle Griffiths

The fire has destroyed at least 15 buildings and threatened some 6,400 more.

At the fairgrounds, Joe Thomas rested on a folded tent near his pickup truck, one of dozens of parked cars and RVs. He described what he could save from the flames — and what he couldn't.

"I lost my business — it's all burned up — my shop, my house, 28 years of living," said Thomas, who lives near the community of Mountain Ranch. "I got to start all over. It's depressing."

Thomas, who runs a tractor dealership and repair business, said he and his wife grabbed papers, his work computer, photos and their four dogs. But they left a goat, five ducks, six rabbits and more than 30 chickens behind.

"I turned the pens open and turned them lose. I just couldn't gather them up," he said. "All we want to do is go home. It's miserable."

Michelle Griffiths checked on livestock after spending much of the night rescuing her neighbours' four horses and seven cats in the community of Mountain Ranch.

"People were running for their lives two nights ago," which is when her neighbours left their house and livestock for a motel, Griffiths said.

"Fortunately, our house is still standing" and so is the neighbours', she said.

State of emergency

Heat and low humidity created problems taming the flames overnight, and high temperatures were again expected to hinder the fight, said Mike Mohler, a Cal Fire spokesman.

"Since this fire started, we've have seen fire activity in the middle of the night that we [normally] see in the middle of the day," he said.

Cooler weather was forecast for later Saturday, but people in nearby San Andreas, a gold-rush town of 2,700, have been told they may have to evacuate.

Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency, helping free up funding and resources in the firefight. There are 3,000 firefighters assigned to the blaze, and more expected to arrive throughout the day. Its cause is under investigation.

Meanwhile, another California wildfire threatened to sweep through an ancient grove of Giant Sequoia trees. The lightning-caused fire has charred 44,500 hecatres and grew by some 10,300 hecatres in the last week.

In a fight to save the trees, firefighters have been clearing lines with bulldozers around the Grant Grove and putting up sprinklers. Firefighters continued to fortify containment lines Saturday, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The grove is named for the towering General Grant tree that stands 81 metres tall. There are dozens of Sequoia groves in the Sierra Nevada, and some trees are 3,000 years old.