California wildfires threaten mountain communities
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters on Friday struggled to control raging California wildfires that have grown explosively during extreme heat and forced thousands of residents to flee mountain communities at both ends of the state.
The Fairview Fire in Southern California covered about 37 square miles (95 square kilometers) of Riverside County and was just 5% contained. Two people died while fleeing flames on Monday and at least 11 structures have been destroyed. More than 18,000 homes were threatened by the fire fed by shifting winds, officials said Thursday evening.
To the north in the Sierra Nevada, the Mosquito Fire burned out of control, scorching at least 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) and threatening 3,600 homes in Placer and El Dorado counties, while blanketing the region in smoke.
Flames jumped the American River, burning structures in the mountain hamlet of Volcanoville and moving closer to the towns of Foresthill, home to about 1,500 people, and Georgetown, population 3,000. Fire spokesperson Chris Vestal called the fast-moving blaze an “extreme and critical fire threat.”
Stefani Lake evacuated her hilltop home near Georgetown Thursday after sheriff's deputies knocked on doors telling people to get out. “The dogs are in the back of the car, I’ve got a room for the night, so I’m ready to leave,” Lake told the Sacramento Bee.
About 100 miles (160 kilometer) to the east, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection warned the Reno area that air quality could be very unhealthy to hazardous due to smoke from the Mosquito Fire.
The fire’s cause remained under investigation. Pacific Gas & Electric notified the state Public Utilities Commission that the U.S. Forest Service placed caution tape around the base of a PG&E transmission pole but that no...
