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[h=4]Wildfires prompt Brown to declare state of emergency in Calif.[/h]Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for all of California in the wake of at least 18 wildfires that killed one firefighter and drove hundreds of people from their homes.
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A series of wildfires blackened the golden hills of California on Friday, egged on by bone-dry vegetation, triple-digit temperatures and gusting winds. (July 31) AP
Flames from the Rocky Fire approach a house on July 31, 2015, in Lower Lake, Calif.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for all of California in the wake of at least 18 wildfires that killed one firefighter and drove hundreds of people from their homes.
California's record drought, now in its fourth year, has "turned much of the state into a tinderbox," he said.
The emergency declaration, which included the activation of the California National Guard, will speed up help for thousands of firefighters, Brown said Friday.
The U.S. Forest Service said David Ruhl, an engine captain from South Dakota's Black Hills National Forest, died while battling the Frog Fire that broke out Thursday in the Modoc National Forest about 100 miles south of Oregon. The fire quickly grew to consume 800 acres.
Ruhl, who had been working in California since June, died sometime Thursday. His body wasn't recovered until Friday, and officials didn't immediately say how he died.
"Firefighter Ruhl will be remembered for his service and bravery and we extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues with the U.S. Forest Service," Brown said in a statement.
In the Lower Lake area north of San Francisco, the Rocky Fire, one of the largest, has consumed 18,000 acres and is only 5% contained, according to CalFire.
Firefighters have been wading through thick smoke and flying embers to turn loose horses, goats and other livestock in rural neighborhoods as their owners fled to safety, the Associated Press reported. The fast-moving fire had burned three homes by Friday and was threatening 450 other structures.
CalFire said the terrain in the area is particularly steep and rugged with limited ground access.
In central California, a blaze near Bass Lake has spread to more than 6 square miles. Residents of 200 homes in the community of Cascadel Woods were ordered to evacuate Thursday. It was 5% contained Friday as it moved southwest toward Lower Lake and Clear Lake.
In Napa Valley, a blaze destroyed more than 12 square miles in Solano County but was 92% contained by Saturday, according to CalFire. The fire, which began 10 days ago, was about 45 miles east of Napa's wine county, and vineyards were not threatened, AP reported.
Fires in San Bernardino and Alpine counties have incinerated nearly 50,000 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
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