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The wildfire in Northern California doubled in size to displace thousands of residents and ruined two dozen homes. The blaze, which was the fiercest of 20 large fires, has scorched about 54,000 acres east of Lower Lake, a town about 180 km north of San Francisco.
Roaring into its fifth day on Sunday, the wildfire spread across the foothills and canyons of northern California's coastal mountains. Around 9,000 fire-fighters across the state are battling the fire.
On Thursday, a U.S. forest ranger was killed by a separate blaze near the Oregon border. This also expanded yet remained as a fraction of the size of the Rocky Fire. This erupted on Wednesday in Lake County and turned to be most destructive.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, or Cal Fire, spokesman Daniel Berlant said, "This is a very fast-moving wildfire."
“Some 20,000 acres of scrub oak and brush ravaged by the fire over a five-hour period on Saturday night represented "unprecedented growth in that short amount of time," he added.
Destruction by Blaze
Officials revealed that by Sunday evening, another 7,000 acres have been blackened by the blaze along the rugged eastern flanks of California's Northern Coast Ranges. Last week the fire destroyed 24 homes and 26 outbuildings. Threatening an estimated 6,300 structures, the fire, forced to close parts of two state highways.
Mandatory evacuation orders or advisories were given to more than 12,000 people. About a third of the state's total force, approximately 2,700 personnel were battling the Rocky Fire without help by Sunday night.
-Sumana
