California wildfires whipped by winds

SACRAMENTO, Sept. 17 (UPI) —

High winds and hot dry weather continued to drive wildfires Wednesday in northern California.

The King fire in the American River Canyon northwest of Sacramento grew to more than 18,000 acres, up from 12,780 on Tuesday. The fire began modestly on Saturday, only to explode in size a couple of days later.

By Wednesday the fire was only 5 percent contained.

"The fire is expected to spread to the east, north, and west," fire officials said in a report. "The fire has become well established in several canyon bottoms and has crossed over many of them and is burning up to the ridges."

Some of the largest of the dozen wildfires in the state are in remote areas, where they pose little danger. The Happy Camp Complex and the July Complex fires have burned over more than 150,000 acres of Klamath National Forest.

But the King fire threatens more than 1,600 homes and mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders are in place for the area.

In Weed, a sawmill town in northern California, a grass fire exploded quickly Monday. Driven by 45 mph winds, the flames burned scores of houses, two churches, part of a school and and outbuildings at Roseburg Forest Products mill.

Dale Anzo, 44, a longtime resident, almost lost his house. Firefighters held the line a few houses away.

"It’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen to hit town," Anzo told SFGate. "It looks like a bomb went off in the middle of it. I feel so bad for my neighbors, for all of us."

On Wednesday, the fire was only 25 percent contained and continuing to threaten buildings, Cal Fire said.