FELTON, Calif. — Firefighters on Thursday battled a series of fast-growing wildfires burning across northern California, including a wind-whipped blaze that destroyed at least 10 homes and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.
Authorities closed all roads to Paradise, a town of about 30,000 about 90 miles north of Sacramento, and ordered several thousand Butte County residents to leave their homes. The blaze, which started about noon Wednesday, had grown to nearly 30 square miles and threatened more than 5,000 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. More than 1,300 firefighters were trying to contain the blaze, which was only 10 percent contained Thursday evening.
In Santa Cruz County, about 900 firefighters were battling a fast-moving wildfire that had grown to 700 acres and destroyed at least 10 homes in the Bonny Doon community, according to fire officials. It was 25 percent contained Thursday evening.
