Evacuations lifted as firefighters gain ground against Northern California

Firefighters in the US state of California have made more progress in fighting against a massive wildfire, allowing hundreds of evacuees to return to their neighborhoods where they find their homes devastated.

Cal Fire says the blaze is 62 percent contained after sweeping through almost 109 square miles of rural timberlands and brushy hills in Lake, Colusa and Yolo counties.

More than 3,600 fire personnel continued to battle California’s largest wildfire, known as the Rocky Fire, on Thursday, August 6. While the fire appears to be slowing down and is now 45% contained, flames are still threatening 6,529 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Layna Rivas returned to her artists’ compound up a rocky dirt road Thursday night and found the place destroyed.

“It looked like a bomb went off everywhere, it’s all black”, she explained.

On Friday, fire officials planned to lift evacuation orders for homes in the Spring Valley area at 10 a.m. California routes 16 and 20 also will reopen at 10 a.m. Friday, according to CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant.

She told the station she saw one chicken wandering in the rubble.

The fire is not growing – only creeping and smoldering – but gusty southwest winds through many parts of Northern California are forecast for next week and that could elevate fire risks, Berlant said. The blaze spreed quickly over 108 square miles. “Firefighters continue to work aggressively to build control lines and sustain perimeter control”, the agency said.