California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in an area where an explosive wildfire forced the evacuation of 2,700 Northern California residents Friday.
The Butte Fire in Amador & Calaveras Counties surged from a few hundred acres Thursday to nearly 65,000 as of Saturday morning and is still only 5 percent contained. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for the town of San Andreas, about 60 miles southeast of Sacramento.
Firefighters watch as the flames if the Butte Fire approach a containment line near San Andreas, Calif., Friday Sept. 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
“It’s exploding like a balloon,” state fire spokeswoman Nancy Longmore describes. “It’s moving very fast. There are many homes threatened. … This fire is extremely dangerous.”
Six homes and two outbuildings burned Thursday, and 6,000 more are threatened, she said. The number of homes burned could increase, as Longmore said the blaze was moving through rural areas with houses.
"The plan is to try to get this thing out," she said. "It's going to take quite a bit of work. We're in for the long haul here."
Weather conditions over the next few days will add to the challenge of battling the dangerous blaze, says weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman.
"The week ahead offers some relief in the form of cooler air and higher humidity.," said Erdman. "But the chance of rain looks remote. September is still one of California's driest months; the wet season usually doesn't kick in until November. A stray afternoon thunderstorm can't be ruled out, however, which could produce dangerous shifting winds if occurring near the fire."
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency to help in the firefight.
http://www.weather.com/safety/wildfires/news/northern-california-butte-wildfire-explodes-evacuations
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