Gov. Brown declares state of emergency for 50,000 acre valley fire

[Luiz 4,253]

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) --
Governor Brown has declared a state of emergency in Lake and Napa counties due to the effects of the explosive 50,000-acre Valley Fire burning in Lake County. Entire communities have been devastated and thousands have been forced to evacuate.

At least 1,000 homes have been destroyed and hundreds more are being threatened, Cal Fire says.

Cal Fire says that over 1,000 firefighters are battling this blaze but their focus is on evacuating residents.

The communities of Cobb and Middletown are burning so fast that it is challenging firefighters' ability to warn residents of the danger.

Bay Area Air Quality Management District spokesperson Aaron Richardson said there is no serious health danger from the fire, but people should take common sense precautions if they smell smoke and avoid vigorous outdoor exercise.

Richardson said the air quality will not rise to the level of being unhealthy Sunday because of the strong sea breezes that are helping to clear some of the smoke.
 

Extraordinary video from the community of Middletown shows house upon house burning, all you can hear is the crackling of the flames.

We won't know the extent of the damage in Middletown until later Sunday, but it is definitely substantial.

We've received word that the flames have destroyed at least one school -- Middletown Christian School, a small private school that serves students from kindergarten through high school.

Evacuation centers are set up at the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, Kelseyville High School, and the Calistoga Fair Grounds. The Red Cross shelter is in place for the thousands that have been evacuated. Some 500 people sent the night at the Calistoga Fair Grounds.
Many are sleeping in cots and others are in their cars and tents. The fire has not slowed. We have not received any word yet about how many buildings have been lost.

The communities of Cobb, Middletown and Hidden Valley have suffered extensive damage.

A lot of people are making their way to the evacuation center after spending the night on side roads escaping the fire.

One evacuee, who worked for the forest service clearing fire lines for years, had the best candid description of the Valley Fire. "It was one of the worst things I've ever seen. It looked like you don't want to visit Hell, you were nearly in it," Roger said.

Sue Hamilton lives on West Road in Milton and she came down Highway 29 within the last hour. "Nothing but fire and ash. The ash is so thick you can't even imagine. It's like a movie, a horrible movie."

Hamilton says she has never been without a home and this is devastating for her.

The destruction of the fire cannot be overemphasized.

Many houses were lost, some are spared. At this point Cal Fire is just trying to get people out and protect as many homes as they can. We have not been given any official count related to structures lost.

We're hearing from evacuees that gas stations in Cobb Mountain and Hidden Valley caught fire and exploded as well as propane tanks in Middletown.

Evacuees are getting calls from people who are still in Lake County and the fire's path is taking many turns.

Cal Fire PIO Daniel Berlant spoke with ABC7 News about what to expect Sunday in the fire zone.

Berlant said he hopes for the best but cautioned against any ideas of a quick result. "We're hoping that if the winds do die down just a little bit, if we continue to see cooler temperatures, then we'll be able to really make some good progress to get ahead of this fire. But as we've seen from fire after fire, it's taken days and days and days of hard, tireless work to try and slow down a fire like this. So there may be more communities in the near future and that's what we'll be working with the sheriff's department to try and do as much as we can to those residents if this fire does change direction or does grow in a different, towards a different community."

 

 

 

 

 

http://abc7news.com/news/valley-fire-in-lake-county-explodes-in-size-to-40000-acres/982006/

 

[Knife 7,080]

California stresses me out, and I don't even live on that side of the States.

Wildfires, earthquakes, drought..it's too much.

[Michelle 2,056]

It's absolutely HORRIBLE. The air is awful and brown. It looks overcast yet it isn't. Just. Awful and scary. 

[Morphine Prince 109,683]

California is so beautiful yet it has so many environmental issues. Honestly no matter how nice it looks I would never live in that state. Fires and earthquakes are a thing there.... nope. I couldn't do it. It's always sad seeing all these communities go up in flames. 

Oh, and how could I forget the drought situation there... 

[LePetitGAGABLover 21,234]

California stresses me out, and I don't even live on that side of the States.

Wildfires, earthquakes, drought..it's too much.

You forgot overpopulation, gang wars, illegal immigration, the state's debt, etc. etc. 

[Michelle 2,056]

California is so beautiful yet it has so many environmental issues. Honestly no matter how nice it looks I would never live in that state. Fires and earthquakes are a thing there.... nope. I couldn't do it. It's always sad seeing all these communities go up in flames. 

Oh, and how could I forget the drought situation there... 

the draught situation is serious and is a HUGE reason the fire season(as they say) is so horrendous this year. So awful ?