The Rocky Fire in Lake County, California now covers 50,000 acres.
Homeowners are doing what they can to prepare but fear they are "one
gust of wind away from devastation."
KXTV - California
The so-called Rocky Fire was only about 5% contained by late Sunday. It was just one of 21 large wildfires burning statewide, fire officials said.
Wildfires were also burning in Washington and Oregon as the West Coast suffered from the effects of drought and summer heat.
"The grass, the brush, the trees, they are tinder-dry," said CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant. More than 12,000 people had been evacuated from the area around Clearlake, Calif., located about 100 miles north of San Francisco and 100 miles northwest of Sacramento. The fire originated Wednesday afternoon. By Sunday, fire crews were assisted by four C-130 air tankers based in Colorado.
California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency and activated the California National Guard to help with disaster recovery.
There has also been a human toll: One firefighter was killed on Thursday at the scene of a fire 100 miles south of the Oregon border. Engine Capt. David Ruhl, a South Dakota firefighter, was killed battling a fast-moving blaze that broke out in the Modoc National Forest. He was in a vehicle looking for ways to fight the blaze when officials lost contact with him. His body was recovered Friday.
Part of a Black Hills National Forest firefighting team, Ruhl had been helping California firefighters since June.
Four other firefighters were burned in blaze near Sacramento.
Contributing: KXTV-TV, Sacramento; The Associated Press