Deadly Northern California wildfire grows by two-thirds overnight
Nine people were reportedly missing as a monster wildfire in Northern California grew by two-thirds overnight after killing two firefighters, destroying hundreds of buildings and sending thousands of frantic residents racing from their homes.
About 3,400 firefighters on the ground and in 17 helicopters battled the 32,740 hectare Carr Fire, which was just 5 per cent contained early on Saturday as it ripped through Redding, a city of 90,000 people, in California's scenic Shasta-Trinity area.
More than 38,000 residents in Redding and elsewhere in Shasta County fled their homes as the fire began to gain speed and intensity on Thursday, destroying 500 homes and businesses and leaving Keswick, a town of 450, in smouldering ruins, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
Another 5,000 buildings are threatened, Cal Fire said.
There are currently 89 large wildfires blazing across 14 US states, mostly in the west, according to the National Interagency Fire Centre.
'COULDN'T GET ANYTHING'
Some 1,100 people crowded into an evacuation centre at Shasta College, outside Redding, on Saturday.
One of them, 57-year-old David Franceschine, said he had been on a camping trip when the fire erupted. He rushed back to his home to try to retrieve possessions but by the time he arrived, authorities had closed the road.
"I couldn't get anything, could I, Scout?" he asked his white-and-brown-spotted dog. "At least I have you, Scout."
Franceschine said he assumes the fire destroyed all his possessions, including the urn containing the ashes of his son, who died four years ago.
"That's what bothers me the most," Franceschine said.
The fire, which started on Monday afternoon, has been fed by hot, dry weather and high winds. Temperatures were forecast to reach 42.8 Celsius on Saturday, with winds of up to 13kmh, according to the National Weather Service.
A bulldozer operator and a member of the Redding Fire Department were killed in the blaze.
Nine people, including a woman and her two great-great grandchildren, were missing, a CBS news affiliate in Sacramento reported, citing local police. The woman's husband, Ed Bledsoe, told the station that he left them home to run an errand on Thursday night.
"He called and said 'Grandpa you need to come, the fire is coming at our house now,'" Bledsoe said of a phone call he had with his great-great grandson while he was gone. "I can't see how I can go on without them."
Reuters