By PAUL ELIAS | Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of Northern California homes and businesses were threatened Monday after wind-driven wildfires broke out over the weekend, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes throughout rural regions north of San Francisco.
The biggest fires continued to grow but there were no reports of injuries or deaths, Californias Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
About 3,000 residents evacuated homes in Lake County, about 120 miles north of San Francisco. A wildfire there that was not contained at all grew to 13 square miles and destroyed at least 22 homes and buildings, the agency reported.
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Cal Fire helicopter helps battle a wildfire in Spring Valley, Calif., Sunday, June 24, 2018. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
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A structure leveled by a wildfire rests in a clearing on Wolf Creek Road near Clearlake Oaks, Calif., on Sunday, June 24, 2018. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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In this photo provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Pawnee Fire wildfire burns northeast of Clearlake Oaks, Calif., early Sunday, June 24, 2018. The Pawnee Fire, which broke out Saturday, was one of four wildfires burning in largely rural areas as wind and heat gripped a swath of California from San Jose to the Oregon border. (Jonathan Cox/California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection via AP)
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In this photo provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Pawnee Fire wildfire burns in the Spring Valley area, northeast of Clearlake Oaks in Lake County, Calif., early Sunday, June 24, 2018. The Pawnee Fire, which broke out Saturday near Clearlake Oaks, was one of four wildfires burning in largely rural areas as wind and heat gripped a swath of California from San Jose to the Oregon border. (Jonathan Cox/California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection via AP)
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In this photo provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Pawnee Fire wildfire burns northeast of Clearlake Oaks, Calif., early Sunday, June 24, 2018. The fire burned actively throughout the night in the Spring Valley area, northeast of Clearlake Oaks in Lake County. The Pawnee Fire, which broke out Saturday, was one of four wildfires burning in largely rural areas as wind and heat gripped a swath of California from San Jose to the Oregon border. (Jonathan Cox/California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection via AP)
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Cal Fire battles a wildfire on Sunday, June 24, 2018 in Spring Valley, Calif. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
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An inmate crew battles a wildfire in Spring Valley, Calif., Sunday, June 24, 2018. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
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Cal Fire battles a wildfire in Spring Valley, Calif., Sunday, June 24, 2018. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
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A Cal Fire incident management team discusses the plan to battle a wildfire in Spring Valley, Calif., Sunday, June 24, 2018. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
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Horses roam in a pasture as Cal Fire battles a wildfire in Spring Valley, Calif., Sunday, June 24, 2018. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
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Kevin Clark helps to protect his brothers store as a wildfire burned and surrounded the area in Spring Valley, Calif., Sunday, June 24, 2018. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
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Firefighters work to contain a wildfire in Spring Valley, Calif., Sunday, June 24, 2018. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
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An air tanker drops retardant on a wildfire above the Spring Lakes community on Sunday, June 24, 2018., near Clearlake Oaks, Calif. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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An air tanker drops retardant on a wildfire burning above the Spring Lakes community on Sunday, June 24, 2018, near Clearlake Oaks, Calif. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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A vehicle scorched by a wildfire rests in a clearing on Wolf Creek Road near Clearlake Oaks, Calif., Sunday, June 24, 2018. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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Firefighter Richard Cotter battles a wildfire on Sunday, June 24, 2018, near Clearlake Oaks, Calif. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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Flames from a wildfire rise above the Spring Lakes community on Sunday, June 24, 2018, near Clearlake Oaks, Calif. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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An air tanker drops retardant on a wildfire burning above the Spring Lakes community on Sunday, June 24, 2018, near Clearlake Oaks, Calif. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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In this photo provided by the Cal Fire Communications, firefighters battle a wildfire in an area northeast of Clearlake Oaks, Calif., Sunday, June 24, 2018 Wind-driven wildfires destroyed buildings and threatened hundreds of others Sunday as they raced across dry brush in rural Northern California. (Jonathan Cox/Cal Fire Communications via AP)
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Fire Battalion Chief Jonathan Cox said more than 230 firefighters using helicopters, bulldozers and other equipment were battling the Lake County fire in a rugged area that made it difficult to get equipment close the blaze.
“Its kind of the worst possible combination,” Cox said.
Authorities also ordered residents to evacuate in Tehama County, about 200 miles north of San Francisco, where two wildfires were burning. One grew to 4 square miles while the smaller one of about half a square mile destroyed multiple homes and businesses in the city of Red Bluff.
A Red Bluff police officer helping residents evacuate lost his home to the smaller wildfire, authorities said.
Red Bluff Police Lt. Matt Hansen said Corporal Ruben Murgias pregnant wife and three young children were ordered to evacuate their home while he was on duty Saturday when the fire started. The family escaped safely, but lost nearly all of their possessions, Hansen said.
Hansen said about $10,000 in cash along with furniture and clothing has been donated to the family as they search for a rental home.
That fire was under control and nearly extinguished, Cal Fire reported.
Cal Fire said the larger fire was 20 percent contained. A nearby casino was serving as an animal evacuation center.
Residents also fled a wildfire in Shasta County about 300 miles north of San Francisco.
No cause has been determined for any of the fires.
Officials said hot weather, high winds and dry conditions are fueling the fires less than a year after Californias costliest fires killed 44 people and tore through the states wine country in October, causing an estimated $10 billion in damage.
Downed power lines were blamed for 12 of the two dozen 2017 fires. The causes of the other fires are under investigation.
While the blazes were the first major blazes of the season to hit California, others have raged throughout the west for weeks. Last week, a Colorado wildfire forced residents of more than 1,000 homes to evacuate and led to warnings for others to get ready to leave.
The fire 13 miles north of Durango was in the Four Corners Region where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah meet — the epicenter of a large U.S. Southwest swath of exceptional drought, the worst category of drought.
Moderate to extreme drought conditions affect larger areas of those four states plus parts of Nevada, California, Oregon, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
This story has been corrected to reflect that a wildfire of less than a square mile destroyed multiple homes and businesses and that the larger wildfire of 4 square miles did not.
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