California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Sunday morning in two counties, after uncontrollable wildfires rippedthrough the areadestroying homes, buildings, roads and other state infrastructure.
The state of emergency has been applied to Lake and Napa counties, some 100 miles north of San Francisco, after fires started Saturday afternoon around 1:30pm in the Lake County town of Cobb.
The blaze quickly spread out of control, and so far has destroyed a total of 40,000 acres, or 62 square miles, within 12 hours, prompting thousands to flee their homes.
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Mandatory evacuations were ordered for the Lake County region, while those in Napa are on alert and could be ordered to evacuate later Sunday, according to CBS.
More than 1,000 firefighters are still fighting the fire and helping to evacuate people from the area.
The town of Middleton, Lake County was hit particularly hard, according to local media, as large blocks of homes and the town's main street were destroyed by the flames.
“A neighbor said there are only three houses left on our block,” Middletown resident Sharon Woita, whose home was destroyed by the flames, told the L.A. Times.
"I was scared. You could feel the heat and we knew our community was changed," said another resident Julie Southern upon evacuating the town.
Another 4,000 firefighters are still working to contain a separate fire that broke out Wednesday in the town of Butte, 70 miles southeast of Sacramento. The blaze has already destroyed 86 homes, 51 outbuildings and was threatening about 6,400 more. By Sunday afternoon, firefighters and crew had managed to increase containment of the fire to 20 percent.
Fires destroy a home in the town of Butte, California Sept. 12, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)
Fires blaze near the town of Butte, California Sept. 12, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)
Fires blaze near the town of Butte, California Sept. 12, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)
Wildfires have been rocking California this summer, which has been experiencing one of its most severe droughts on record. The blazes have been fueled by the extreme heat and bone-dry landscape making them almost uncontrollable.
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