California wildfires chase people from homes into smoky air

VACAVILLE, Calif. — Crews worked in blistering heat Wednesday to beat back wildfires that ignited across Northern California, sending thousands of people from their homes into smoky air, briefly halting traffic on an interstate and killing a pilot on a firefighting mission.

Hundreds of fires were burning across California, including 23 major fires or groups of fires that Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed on “extraordinary weather” and "all of these lightning strikes.” He said the state has recorded nearly 11,000 lightning strikes in 72 hours and knows of 367 fires.

Five to seven people were injured in a fire in Stanislaus County, southeast of San Francisco, Sheriff Jeff Dirkse told the Sacramento Bee.

One had major burn injuries and all were taken by ambulance for treatment, he said.

Someone evacuating on Monday had reported that workers at an illegal marijuana farm were still at the ranch but he couldn't confirm if any were among the patients.

Two fires in Solano County prompted evacuation orders for 8,000 residents near the Russian River. In Healdsburg, with a population of about 12,000, people were warned late Wednesday to be ready to flee.

Ash and smoke filled the air in San Francisco, which is surrounded by wildfires to the north, east and south. The LNU Lightning Complex is made up of several fires in five counties north of San Francisco, including in Vacaville, a city of about 100,000 people between San Francisco and Sacramento.

Nearby Travis Air Force Base ordered non-mission essential personnel to evacuate, officials said.

The fire had consumed nearly 194 square miles (502 square kilometres) Wednesday night, an area larger than the size of San Jose.

It jumped Interstate 80 Wednesday afternoon, briefly blocking traffic in both directions.

Several thousand people in the small communities of Angwin and Deer Park were ordered evacuated.

Police and firefighters warned residents before dawn to evacuate as flames encroached on Vacaville. At least 50 structures were destroyed, including some homes, and 50 were damaged.

“The whole sky was red orange and it was coming over the hill there and it was massive. I’ve never seen anything like it and it only took a few minutes to get here," said Karen Hansen.

She evacuated her Vacaville home late Tuesday as flames rushed toward their small farm, packing up her smaller animals but unable to bring along two beloved horses. They returned Wednesday to find the house and barn destroyed, but Hansen was thrilled to see that her horses survived.

“I’m not upset about the house. I’m just happy that my horses and animals are alive and my daughter," she said.

In eastern San Francisco Bay, a cluster of 20 separate lightning-sparked fires called the SCU Lightning complex was threatening about 1,400 structures in rugged terrain with dense brush. The fires have torched 133 square miles (344 square kilometres).

To the south of San Francisco in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, about 22,000 people were ordered to evacuate because of a fire in dense wooded parkland, Cal Fire spokesman Jonathan Cox said.

At least 20 homes had burned, fire officials said.

About 22 fires are part of the complex and most were in relatively remote, dense brush until strong winds overnight Tuesday pushed them into more populated areas, merging some of the fires together.

Resources are strapped, he said, given the number of fires.

“We’re in the unfortunate position where firefighters are going to be spending several days out on the fire line,” he said. “It’s grueling, it’s exhausting.”

In central California, a pilot on a water dropping mission in western Fresno County crashed his helicopter about an hour from New Coalinga Municipal Airport right after 8:45 a.m. Wednesday.

The pilot, whose name has not been released, was working with Guardian Helicopters, based in Fillmore, which had a contract with CalFire to provide emergency services as needed, said Zoe Keliher, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Robert Satz, a pilot and safety manager at the company, said he received word about the crash around 10:30 a.m. He said he had no further details and declined to identify the pilot.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s search-and-rescue team was summoned shortly after 11 a.m. to recover the body of the pilot, but it has not reached the crash site because it is in the fire zone, said department spokesman Tony Botti said.

“They’re trying to methodically and safely get them in and hopefully not get exposed to the fire,” he said.

The cluster of wine country fires threaten an area that only last year grappled with another massive blaze that forced 200,000 to flee — a task made more complicated this year because of the pandemic.

“This is an incredibly emotional and stressful time for most of us who’ve endured a number of wildfires over the last few years," said Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick.

In Solano County's Vacaville, John Gardiner, 60, stayed up overnight after receiving a neighbour's alert of oncoming fire just before midnight. His house and neighbours' homes were safe, but he worried that could change with crews anticipating hot winds.

“It was incredible — things swirling, winds just whipping through like a howling, ripping sound and then you could hear explosions going off," he said. “You can taste smoke in your mouth."

Victoria Gregorich, 54, said her family loaded the car and left their Vacaville home after deputies told them to evacuate around 12:30 a.m. The fire destroyed her greenhouse, but the house was spared. Her neighbours were not so lucky.

“It’s devastating,” she said. “I just thank God we have our home.”

Elvis Castaneda, 28, and his father, Silverio, spent the night moving ranching equipment to a safer location, removing vegetation and making firebreaks with their tractor around friends' properties.

“We couldn’t see the flames, but the sky was pretty orange, and we knew it was coming our way,” Elvis Castaneda said.

He said he drove home at 3 a.m. and started packing documents, photos, passports and his guns after hearing that his girlfriend’s family, who live 2 miles (3 kilometres) away, were told to evacuate and move all their farm animals to safety. He got the order to leave after dawn Wednesday.

South of Carmel, nearly 50 miles (80 kilometres) of scenic Highway 1 along the coast was closed due to fires.

In Southern California, an 8-day-old blaze grew to nearly 50 square miles (106 square kilometres) near Lake Hughes in northern Los Angeles County mountains.

Chewing through century-old fir, oak and pine, the fire continued to be a threat to 4,570 structures after destroying a dozen. Dangerously hot weather and rough terrain challenged firefighters’ efforts to increase containment, currently estimated at 36%.

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Har reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Juliet Williams, Olga R. Rodriguez and Daisy Nguyen in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Haven Daley And Janie Har, The Associated Press