California Fire’s Rapid Growth Draws Droves of Firefighters

Just days after a wildfire tore through a small Northern California town and destroyed scores of homes, crews on Wednesday battled another fast-moving blaze in the region that was also threatening residences.

Hundreds of additional firefighters were dispatched to the fire near the town of Pollock Pines, about 60 miles east of Sacramento, bringing the number fighting the blaze to more than 2,500 personnel. That was an increase of about 1,000 from the previous day.

The fire grew by thousands of acres overnight and had burned through nearly 29 square miles. It was threatening 500 homes, at least some of which were under mandatory evacuation orders, and was just 5 percent contained.

Meanwhile, further north, crews were building and strengthening containment lines around a fire that tore through the town of Weed near the Oregon border on Monday. The blaze damaged or destroyed more than 150 structures and also struck a blow at the economic vitals of the struggling timber town, knocking its last wood products mill offline for an undetermined amount of time.

Fire crews took advantage of calmer winds and firefighting aircraft Tuesday, gaining control in and around Weed. But flames still threatened other parts of California.

In Oakhurst, a foothill community south of Yosemite National Park, a 320-acre fire that damaged or destroyed 71 structures — 37 of them homes — was 60 percent contained. About 600 residents from 200 homes remained evacuated, Madera County sheriff’s spokeswoman Erica Stuart said.

More than 4,000 wildfires have burned in California this year.

Topics California Wildfire