A wildfire destroyed at least 10 homes and forced some 4,000 people to flee as flames jumped a road and moved into a Northern California town still recovering from a devastating wildfire nearly a year ago.
The fire reached Main Street in Lower Lake, a town of 1,200 about 90 miles north of San Francisco, on Sunday and burned the post office, a Habitat for Humanity office and several businesses as thick, black smoke loomed over the small downtown strip. Staff at a hospital in Clearlake, a neighboring town of about 15,000, rushed to transfer 16 patients to another hospital and firefighters carried goats and other animals to safety as homes burned around them.
The blaze was one of 11 large wildfires in California, where high temperatures and parched conditions brought on by a five-year drought raised the fire danger. In central California, a day-old wildfire burned 20 structures and threatened 150 homes. The Lower Lake fire broke out Saturday afternoon and exploded to nearly 5 square miles as it fed on bone-dry vegetation. Firefighters struggled to get a handle on the largely out-of-control blaze in 100-degree heat and windy conditions.
Officials confirmed 10 homes burned, although witnesses said they could see more. Residents thinking conditions were calm earlier in the day went on errands in town and came back to roaring flames and smoke. Some used hoses or water from their pools to try to protect their houses.
Rick Davis, 40, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he went to lunch in Lower Lake and rushed home when he heard the fire exploded. He used a hose to wet down his roof.
“I’m just scared,” he said. “The wind can just change.”

Source: Arab News