LOWER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Triple-digit temperatures and gusty winds thrust Northern California into full-fledged wildfire season Thursday with several new blazes flaring up, forcing hundreds of people from their homes.
California’s 14 large fires, mostly in the scorched northern half of the state, are pushing 7,000 firefighters to their limits as they battle flames amid drought, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Fire and Forestry Protection.
Dozens of fires started Wednesday, but Berlant said crews quickly corralled all but five of them.
“They only need a little wind to allow them to burn at an explosive rate,” Berlant said.