Four Firefighters Suffer From Second-Degree Burns While Thousands Of People Flee Their Homes Due To Wildfire In Northern California
Joe Thomas, who lives near the community of Mountain Ranch, lost his home and business after a wildfire grew rapidly in Calaveras County on Friday night.
"I lost my business - it's all burned up - my shop, my house, 28 years of living," says Thomas, according to NBC News on Monday. "I got to start all over. It's depressing."
Thomas and his wife were able to bring with them papers, computer, pictures and their four dogs, but left some of their pets and livestock animals.
"I turned the pens open and turned them loose. I just couldn't gather them up. All we want to do is go home. It's miserable," Thomas adds.
Around 4,000 firefighters struggle to stop the fire in Calavares and Amador counties. The fire started on Wednesday and was 25 percent contained Sunday.
81 homes and 51 outbuildings were destroyed by the wildfire dubbed as Butte fire. Residents living in the areas affected were mandated to immediately evacuate the area after the fire flared up.
Meanwhile, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) says the wildfire in Lake County was quick to burn down trees in northwest Sacramento on Saturday afternoon forcing the residents to flee their homes.
"In some cases, residents only had minutes to evacuate," says CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant.
The Northern California wildfire grew to 50,000 acres on Sunday from 50 to 400 acres of Saturday afternoon.
During a press briefing, Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann says the primary objective of the authorities is "life saving."
Lake County was declared under state of emergency on Sunday as per Governor Jerry Brown. Some 1,000 firefighters from CalFire were deployed to fight the Valley fire on Sunday according to Berlant.
Also, four firefighters, who suffered from second-degree burns, are now on stable conditions at UC Davis Medical Center, as per CalFire.
The National Weather Service issued air quality alerts after twelve wildfires flared up across California. Berlant also said that those who are living near Northern California should "expect to see smoke."
