'Several people' injured in North California wildfire as crews battle blazes in South

A Northern California blaze destroyed multiple homes Friday and forced as many as 7,500 residents to leave immediately, jamming roadways at the start of a sweltering Labour Day weekend.

Suzi Brady, a Cal Fire spokesperson, said several people were injured and taken to a hospital. She said she didn't know the extent of their injuries.

Brady said residents are still vacating and that the blaze continues to spread rapidly in front of 58 km/h winds.

She said more resources have been requested to aid at least 200 firefighters battling the blaze on the ground and from the air.

Brady didn't know how many people have been injured or where they were taken.

The Mill Fire started on the property of Roseburg Forest Products, a lumber mill north of Weed, Calif., and quickly burned through homes and prompted evacuation orders for all of Weed and the nearby communities of Lake Shastina and Edgewood, said Weed councillor Sue Tavalero.

She said there were burned homes in the Lincoln Heights neighbourhood but "I don't know how many. I'm positive several homes have been lost."

The blaze spread quickly in hot and windy conditions, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The Mill Fire had burned 3.6 square kilometres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Rebecca Taylor, communications director for Roseburg Forest Products based in Springfield, Ore., said she did not know where or how the fire started but the company evacuated its veneer plant in Weed after the fire was reported at 12:58 p.m. local time on Friday. Some of its property is burned. The plant employs 145 people, although not all were on shift at the time, Taylor said.

"We're just devastated to see this fire affecting the community in this way," she said.

Evacuees described heavy smoke and chunks of ash raining down from massive flames near Weed, about 80 kilometres south of the Oregon border.

Christopher Rock, an employee at the Mayten Store in Montague, 48 kilometres north of Weed, said fire evacuees had swarmed the pumps.

"It's really busy right now," he said. "You can't see the flames from here, just a lot of smoke."

Marco Noriega, brew master at Mount Shasta Brewing Company, said he received the notice to evacuate around 2 p.m. and he sent the 10 customers and three employees away. He said the power is out and he has received little information.

The wind was blowing from the south, keeping the fire away. He sounded calm as he cleaned up.

"I've been through it before, so long as the wind stays in the direction it is, I'm all right. But I know the wind switches quickly," he said by phone.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Siskiyou County from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday when area winds were expected to reach up to 50 km/h.

Several blazes across state

In Southern California, firefighters were making progress Friday against two big wildfires despite dangerously hot weather.

Containment of the Route Fire along Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles increased to 37 per cent and it remained at just over 21 square kilometres in size, a Cal Fire statement said.

California is in the grip of a prolonged heat wave. Temperatures have been so high that residents have been asked for three consecutive days to conserve power during late afternoon and evening hours when solar energy declines.

WATCH | California wildfires rage amid heat wave:

California wildfires rage amid heat wave

2 years ago

Duration 1:59

Wildfires continue to burn in California amid drought, which is being made worse by an expanding and potentially dangerous heat wave.

On Wednesday, seven firefighters working the Route Fire in triple-digit temperatures had to be taken to hospitals for treatment of heat illnesses. All were released.

The tally of destroyed structures remained at two, and all evacuation orders were lifted.

In eastern San Diego County, the Border 32 Fire remained at just under 18 square kilometres and containment increased to 20 per cent.

More than 1,500 people had to evacuate the area near the U.S.-Mexico border when the fire erupted Wednesday. All evacuations were lifted by Friday afternoon.

Two people were hospitalized with burns. Three homes and seven other buildings were destroyed.

Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.