Valley fire spreads to 61000 acres

“It’s threatening more and more homes”, Berlant said Saturday on CNN.

“There is metal dripping off the cars because of the heat”, he said. They have managed to reduce the fire by 25%.

On Sunday, the Valley Fire spread rapidly through Northern California, hitting 40,000 acres in one day.

“The safety of students, families, teachers and staff is our top priority”, the Lake County Office of Education said in a written statement. Eight major fires are now burning but two-the Valley Fire about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of the state capital Sacramento and the Butte Fire about 100 miles to the east-have been particularly damaging over the last week, with little let-up in sight. On Monday, Cal Fire said the Valley Fire is five percent contained. They were the latest casualties of the worst drought in California’s recorded history, which has left hillsides thick with dry brush and made wildfires more common than ever. Ghilarducci reportedly said Sunday that fire and emergency services operations were “stretched” and California has requested help from the states of Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Colorado and Washington.

Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant, in a Twitter statement, said: “While crews have not had a chance to do a full damage assessment, we know hundreds of structures have been destroyed”.

Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Lake and Napa counties due to the Valley fire.

Fire officials blame the fast-spreading fires on the drought-parched forest and strong, erratic winds that reached up to 30 miles per hour. Many of those customers are under mandatory evacuation orders.

The reported death is being investigated by local law enforcement agencies.

Firefighters on Sunday afternoon could be seen driving around flaming utility poles to put out spot fires.

On Friday, some 3,500 more people were evacuated from another blaze, dubbed the Rough Fire, which is burning in Kings Canyon National Park in central California.

The blaze with zero containment raced through several towns overnight after exploding in size within hours. “In Middletown, there are cars burned out on the highway”, Ghilarducci said.

Flames continue to burn near gas lines at a destroyed apartment complex Sunday in Middletown, California.

Javier Negrete told The Associated Press that parts of Middletown have burned to the ground.

The governor’s move will expedite debris removal and waive fees to replace essential documents like birth certificates for those who’ve had to abandon their homes and belongings. She left with her pug and spent the night in Calistoga, about 17 miles away.

One Middletown resident who was evacuated said his neighbor doesn’t have a home anymore.