Two wildfires in Northern California were threatening more than 3,500 homes and forcing thousands to evacuate Sunday night.
About 1,000 firefighters were on the front lines to protect homes and commercial buildings in Manton, Shingletown and Viola in Tehama and Shasta counties from an out-of-control wildfire sparked by lighting on Saturday, said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. More than 12,000 acres of forest have been destroyed by the blaze – called the Ponderosa Fire – and it had yet to be contained, he said.
Lightning strikes on Friday night and Saturday morning set off a dozen fires across the state, Berlant said.
Dry conditions are contributing to the Ponderosa Fire’s rapid spread. “The brush, the timber is tinder-dry,” he said. “When the fire gets up to them, it just burns very quickly.”
A Red Cross shelter has been established at the Big League Dreams athletic complex in Redding.
From The San Francisco Chronicle: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Northern-California-fires-rout-thousands-3799789.php