1 reported dead in as northern California fires continue to char land and destroy homes

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Wildland fires in Lake County and the Gold Country grew overnight as firefighters attempted to stop spreading flames that killed one person, burned hundreds of homes and left vast areas of blackened devastation.

In Lake County, it was confirmed that one person has died as a result of the fire that grew with ferocity over the weekend. Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said that a woman in Anderson Springs suffered fatal injury from the blaze but no other details were available.

Meanwhile, in Amador and Calaveras counties, where evacuations were advised in places made famous by Mark Twain such as Angels Camp and San Andreas, fire had burned 135 home and 79 other structures.

The fire, which began Wednesday, has charred 71,063 acres and was 30 percent contained as of Monday. About 4,500 personnel were fighting the blaze in oak, grassland and pine country where it has not burned in many years.

The lack of burns through the years, combined with a drought that has wicked moisture from vegetation, has made for a hot, quick burn.

“The lack of moisture content provides an opportunity for extremely volatile fire behavior,” said Cal Fire information officer Joshua Rubinstein.

Firefighters were expecting cooler temperatures, which would mean better conditions for battling the blaze.

“The cooler temperatures allow for more productivity from firefighters,” he said. “Can you imagine climbing up the side of a mountain with 40 pounds of gear on your back while carrying hose in 106-degree weather?”

Rubinstein said that the fire has been devastating for the thousands who have been displaced from homes for nearly a week.

“I have been to the evacuation shelters and seen the same people every day,” said Rubinstein. “There is an expression of hopelessness on their faces.”

All Calaveras and Amador county schools were closed on Monday.

In Lake County, the devastation from the Valley fire is similarly stark. A total of 61,000 acres had been burned by Monday.

Cal Fire reports that 400 structures have burned since the fire broke out Saturday but officials expect that number to significantly increase on Monday when the smoke clears and they can conduct a better count. Containment was just 5 percent on Monday.

“The fire is progressing in areas where we are having difficulty making access,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Smith.

Valley fire evacuees number in the thousands. Homes and an apartment complex burned to the ground in Middletown, Lake County. However, much of the town of 1,300 residents was spared, including the high school.

“This is an active fire across the entire incident,” said Smith. “There is no portion we would be willing to call contained.”

Four firefighters were injured and were recovering at UC Davis Medical Center. About 1,400 personnel had joined the firefight by Monday.

Cal Fire officials said at a Monday morning fire update that that the blaze that had already been sweeping through Lake and Napa counties, had encroached into Sonoma County. Fire officials were concerned about protecting geo-thermal power plants fed by geysers along the Napa-Lake County border that provide electricity to the region.

Parts of The Geysers have already been damaged. Calpine, owner and operator of the 14 power plants at The Geysers, said on its website that the system has a generating capacity of about 725 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power 725,000 homes.

The Geysers meet most power needs of Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties and parts of the power needs of Marin and Napa counties.

Heavy smoke on Sunday prevented an aerial attack on the fire. Conditions appear to be similarly smoky Monday, again preventing fire suppression by airplanes and helicopters.

It has been so smoky at times that firefighters have had trouble finding the flames. Fire experts described an unpredictable fire that will threaten the front of a home, be beaten back, and then return a short while later to encroach at the back porch of the residence.

Firefighters have had to contend with exploding ammunition and fireworks in some homes. Cal Fire is estimating that as many as 19,000 people had been evacuated.

At times the blaze is marching through vegetation at a rate of 50-feet a minute. Winds were calm overnight but the fire continued to heavily burn along Highway 29 between Lower Lake and Middletown.

A total of 135,317 acres have burned in Fresno County on the Rough fire that is expected to be contained on Tuesday.

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