The Rocky Fire in Lake County, about 130 miles north of San Francisco, caused at least 500 people to flee, KXTV reported. The blaze had spread to 12 square miles and was not contained as of Thursday morning. The fire is burning heavy brush and timber and access to the flames is difficult, according to CAL FIRE, the state firefighting agency.
Nearly 7,000 firefighters were battling at least 14 blazes across the state, CAL FIRE spokesman Daniel Berlant said Thursday. Most of the fires were in the northern part of California, including the Wragg Fire in Napa Valley (which is 80% contained) and the Lowell Fire near the Sierra (60% contained).
There have been nearly 4,000 wildfires in California in 2015, about 1,500 more than average at this point of the year, CAL FIRE reported.
In other fire-related news, officials said a $75,000 reward has been offered for the arrest and conviction of anyone who flew drones or interfered with fire-fighting aircraft in recent wildfires in San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles.
“In the most recent fire, the North Fire, we saw cars and trucks burning on the freeway, we saw homes burn, and we saw families running for their lives,” James Ramos, chairman of the country's board of supervisors, said in a news release. “We want to know who was flying drones, and we want them punished."
While some scattered thunderstorms are possible in southern California this weekend, it won't do much to help the ongoing drought in the state that's now in its fourth year. Plus, lightning and wind associated with the storms could make things worse by exacerbating wildfires in the state. Record heat in northern California and Oregon could also increase the chance of blazes in those areas, the National Interagency Fire Center said.
As of Thursday's U.S. Drought Monitor, 97% of California and 100% of Oregon and Washington were in some form of drought. A NASA study published Thursday found the Golden State's precipitation deficit has amounted to nearly two feet over the past three years. Between 2012 and 2015, the state has been about 20 inches short of precipitation, the average amount that's supposed to fall in the state in a single year.