Northern California wildfire grows

(08-23) 08:16 PDT REDDING -- Hundreds of homes were threatened Thursday by a 5-day-old Northern California wildfire that grew by 2,000 acres overnight.

State firefighters were struggling to contain the 27,978-acre Ponderosa Fire about 30 miles east of Redding. The fire has destroyed 84 structures, most of them homes, and threatens another 900, said Daniel Berlant, Cal Fire spokesman.

The fire is 50 percent contained, but most of the line has been built on the western edge of the blaze, away from the advancing front, Berlant said.

"This fire is continuing to make some aggressive runs on the east side," he said. "The winds are expected to come out of the southwest this afternoon and push the fire to the east."

The blaze, ignited Saturday by a lightning strike, has burned through dry pine forests in the Battle Creek Drainage to Highway 36 near Mineral. Almost 2,500 firefighters are trying to prevent the fire from jumping the highway and have issued an evacuation warning for the small Tehama County town, population 123.

Evacuation orders remain in effect for Manton in Tehama County and the Shasta County town of Viola.

Firefighters previously said 50 structures had been destroyed. A more accurate count revealed that another 34 buildings burned, most during the weekend, Berlant said.

A dozen other fires in Northern California that were also ignited by lightning Saturday and Sunday are still burning. A total of about 10,000 firefighters are battling the blazes.

Two fires in Mendocino County have burned 17,820 acres, Berlant said. The North Pass fires are just 10 percent contained and threaten 45 homes.

The fires have burned into the Mendocino National Forest, where 962 federal and state firefighters are trying to contain it.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Northern-California-wildfire-grows-3809979.php

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