A wildfire roaring through Northern California's parched Lake County has surged ahead, churning through an extra 23 square miles overnight.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant tweeted Sunday morning that the fire has now burned up 62 1/2 square miles.
Authorities say the fire erupted in Lake County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco, Saturday afternoon and rapidly chewed through brush and trees parched from several years of drought.
VIDEO: Large plumes of smoke fill the sky above a massive, fast-moving wildfire in Lake County, California: http://t.co/AeJUpkYEMg
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 13, 2015
An unconfirmed number of structures were destroyed. Entire towns as well as residents along a 35-mile stretch of highway were evacuated.
Four firefighters suffered second-degree burns in fighting the blaze and are hospitalized in stable condition.
VIDEO: Reporters Driving Through Intense Wildfire in California #ButteFire https://t.co/9JSCT5ibyN Taken near Mokelumne Hill 9/10/15 #KCRA
— Christine Rogers (@studioregency) September 11, 2015
Southeast of Sacramento, a 101-square-mile wildfire in California's Gold Country has destroyed 86 homes and burned 51 outbuildings, and officials say it's threatening another 6,400 structures. But crews reported slight progress Saturday, saying the fire was 15 percent contained.
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