Cal Fire crews work to battle the Butte Fire in Amador and Calaveras counties on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. The wildland fire, which ignited Wednesday afternoon, grew to 4,000 acres within 24 hours.(Photo: Mark Pepper/ABC10)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An “explosive” wildfire
led to evacuations in several in Northern California communities Friday, and the governor declared a state of emergency.
The Butte Fire burning in Amador and Calaveras counties grew to about 101<span style="color: Red;">*</span>square miles Friday night. Although people living near San Andreas, a town of about 2,700 located about 60 miles southeast of Sacramento, were originally told to immediately evacuate, Cal Fire updated their information to say they should be prepared to leave, but it is not mandatory.
“It’s expanding like a balloon,” said state fire spokeswoman Nancy Longmore. “It’s moving very fast. There’s many homes threatened. … This fire is extremely dangerous.”
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Amado and Calaveras to help in the firefight.
Cal Fire says they were forced to expand the mandatory evacuation area because of the "explosive nature of the fire
The fire started around 2:30 p.m. CT Wednesday just east of the town of Jackson. It is growing in all directions, which is unusual for a wildfire, Cal Fire said. The steep terrain, high heat and low humidity created dangerous fire behavior.
As of Friday morning, the blaze has destroyed six structures and two outbuildings; another 6,000 structures are threatened.
"You are advised that if you see smoke or fire approaching your community, evacuate the area immediately to a safe location," Cal Fire Incident Commander Phill Veneris said in a press release.
More than 1,500 firefighters, 178 engines, seven air tankers and 16 helicopters were assigned to fight the fire. The cause is under investigation.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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