LOWER LAKE, Calif.—A wildfire destroyed at least 10 homes and forced some 4,000 of people to flee their homes as flames jumped a road and moved into a Northern California town located miles away from a devastating wildfire nearly a year ago.
The fire reached Main Street in Lower Lake, a town of about 1,200 about 90 miles north of San Francisco, on Sunday and burned the post office, a winery, a Habitat for Humanity office and several businesses as thick, black smoke loomed over the small downtown strip. Staff at a hospital in Clearlake, a neighboring town of about 15,000, rushed to transfer 16 patients to another hospital while firefighters carried goats and other animals to safety as homes burned around them.
The blaze was one of 11 large wildfires burning in California, where high temperatures combined with parched conditions brought on by a five-year drought raised the fire danger. In central California, a day-old wildfire burned 20 structures and threatened 150 homes.
Officials confirmed 10 homes around Lower Lake were burned, although witnesses said they could see more. Tragically, the Habitat for Humanity office was working to raise money to help rebuild homes destroyed by a devastating wildfire that killed four people and destroyed more than 1,300 homes nearly a year ago.
“Emotions are still incredibly raw from the Valley Fire,” said state Sen. Mike McGuire about last year’s wildfire.
