When the Valley fire erupted Saturday afternoon in Lake County, it quickly became clear firefighters weren't going to be able to keep up.
As officials evacuated homes in its path, the blaze would jump ahead of them, threatening more structures before firefighters could advance.
"Ashes, embers would rain down a quarter-, half-mile behind them," said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "As fire crews would make progress -- hold the fire -- it would burn right past them."
Experts said the Valley fire moved faster than any other in California's recent past.