California fires claim 5 lives, threaten thousands of homes

Santa Cruz (US): Wildfires that blackened skies, took at least five lives and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes have blazed through California straining firefighting resources by the sheer vastness of the battle lines.

Three major collections of fires dozens in all carved their way on Thursday through forests, canyons and rural areas in the San Francisco Bay Area and central California.

Tens of thousands of homes were threatened by flames that drove through dense and bone-dry trees and brush. Many of the fires were sparked by lightning strikes from brief thunderstorms this week as a high-pressure area over the West brought a dangerous mix of triple-digit weather and monsoonal moisture pulled from the south.

Some fires doubled in size within 24 hours, fire officials said.

And while some evacuations were lifted in the small city of Vacaville, between San Francisco and Sacramento, other areas expanded their evacuation areas. The University of California, Santa Cruz was evacuated and a new fire burning near Yosemite National Park also prompted evacuations.

Santa Cruz itself, a coastal city of 65,000, wasn't affected but Mayor Justin Cummings urged residents Thursday evening to be prepared to evacuate by gassing up their vehicles and packing important documents, medicines and other belongings.

Prepare early so that you are ready to go at a moment's notice," Cummings said.

Although temperatures were predicted to ease slightly on Friday, they were also expected to be hot enough so that firefighters will not be able to count on cool evening weather aiding them.

Erratic winds also could drive the fires unpredictably in multiple directions, state fire officials said.

There's so much heat in these fires that they create their own wind...and they may blow in any direction, and very erratically," said Daniel Berlant, an assistant deputy director with the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire.

Winds gusting to 20 mph (32 kph) over ridge tops could challenge the overnight firefighting efforts in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, said the incident commander, Cal Fire Assistant Chief Billy

See.

This country likes to burn at night, more so than during the day, and that's because of the wind patterns, he said.

Nearly 50,000 people were ordered evacuated in those counties.

The ferocity of the fires was astonishing so early in the fire season, which historically has seen the largest and deadliest blazes when gusty Santa Ana winds start blowing over the next two months.

But the death toll already had reached at least five since the majority of blazes started less than a week ago.

Berlant said three civilians died in Napa County and one died in neighbouring Solano County since the fires began. He didn't have details but Solano County Sheriff Thomas A Ferrara reported the death of a male resident there.