A fast-moving fire in Northern California injured several people, a fire official said, and destroyed multiple homes as thousands of residents were forced to leave immediately, jamming roadways at the start of a sweltering Labor Day weekend.
The Northern California blaze on Friday forced as many as 7,500 residents to leave. Suzi Brady, a Cal Fire spokeswoman, said several people were injured and taken to a hospital. She said she didn't know the extent of their injuries.
Brady said residents are still evacuating and that the blaze continues to rapidly spread amid 36 mph (58 kph) winds. She said more resources have been requested to aid at least 200 firefighters battling the blaze on the ground and from the air. Brady didn't know how many people have been injured or where they were taken.
The Mill Fire started on the property of Roseburg Forest Products, a lumber mill north of the town of Weed, and quickly burned through homes and prompted evacuation orders for all of Weed and the nearby communities of Lake Shastina and Edgewood, with a combined population of about 7,500 people, said Weed councilwoman Sue Tavalero.
She said there were burned homes in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood but "I don't know how many. I'm positive several homes have been lost." The blaze spread quickly in hot and windy conditions, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The Mill Fire had burned 1.4 square miles (3.6 square kilometers), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Rebecca Taylor, communications director for Roseburg Forest Products based in Springfield, Oregon, said she did not know where or how the fire started but the company evacuated its veneer plant in Weed after the fire was reported at 12:58 pm Friday. Some of its property is burned. The plant employs 145 people, although not all were on shift at the time, Taylor said.
"We're just devastated to see this fire affecting the community in this way," she said.
Evacuees described heavy smoke and chunks of ash raining down from massive flames near Weed, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of the Oregon border.
Christopher Rock, an employee at the Mayten Store in Montague, 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Weed, said fire evacuees had swarmed the pumps.
Marco Noriega, brew master at Mount Shasta Brewing Company, said he received the notice to evacuate around 1 pm and he sent the 10 customers and three employees away. He said the power is out and he has received little information.
The wind was blowing from the south, keeping the fire away. He sounded calm as he cleaned up.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Siskiyou County from 11 am to 11 pm Friday when area winds were expected to reach up to 31 mph (50 kph).
In Southern California, firefighters were making progress Friday against two big wildfires despite dangerously hot weather.
Containment of the Route Fire along Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles increased to 37 per cent and it remained at just over 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) in size, a Cal Fire statement said.
California is in the grip of a prolonged heat wave. Temperatures have been so high that residents have been asked for three consecutive days to conserve power during late afternoon and evening hours when solar energy declines.
