Racing wildfire engulfs homes in California town
Source: AP-EXCITE
By JEFF BARNARD
WEED, Calif. (AP) — Dan Linville and his son were sitting in their living room when they smelled smoke. When they looked outside, they saw a black cloud coming over the hills.
Ten minutes later, a wildfire driven by fierce winds raced through their neighborhood, missing them by three houses and torching a roof across the street.
Officials said the fast-moving fire caught residents in the small town of Weed near the Oregon border off guard and damaged or destroyed 100 homes and a church in this tiny town. At least 1,500 people were forced to flee.
It was among nearly a dozen wildfires burning in California that have been exacerbated by the state's third straight year of drought. The tinder-dry conditions have increased the fire danger around the state significantly and sent firefighters scrambling seemingly nonstop from blaze to blaze.
FULL story at link.
The Boles fire burns along a ridge Monday, Sept. 15, 2014, in Weed, Calif. The, fire driven by fierce winds, raced through a small town near the Oregon border on Monday, burning a church to the ground, damaging or destroying 100 homes and prompting evacuation orders for at least 1,500 people, authorities said.(AP Photo/The Record Searchlight, Greg Barnette)
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140916/us--california_wildfires-bdf33a53fc.html
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