About 100 homes and other buildings have been destroyed as a wind-swept wildfire tore through a neighborhood on Saturday, according to local fire officials.
Thousands were forced to evacuate the city of Weed, California, located just north of San Francisco, on Friday just after 1 p.m. when the Mill Fire broke out. As of Sunday, at least two people were reported injured from the wildfire.
Those injured were given medical attention at Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta; one is in stable condition, and the other was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center.
Phil Anzo, the Cal Fire Siskiyou Unit Chief, shared in a press conference that crews were working to protect structures from further damage in Weed.
“There’s a lot at stake on that Mill Fire,” he said. “There’s a lot of communities, a lot of homes there.”
While crews were able to get the fire 20% contained, the Mountain Fire, another wildfire just northwest of Weed, began to grow substantially.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Siskiyou County, saying that a federal grant was received “to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppress the fire.”
At this time, fire crews are continuing to work on containing the fires, as well as investigating what caused them to start.
Weed has seen three significant fires over the last eight years as the record drought in California continues to create dry and hot weather.
The state has seen the largest and most destructive fires in its history over just the last half-decade, and scientists say the conditions will only get worse.
The Mill Fire was not contained as of Sunday, burning about an hour’s drive from the border of Oregon and California. It also is located 30 miles from where the McKinney Fire took place in July.
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