VALLEY FIRE IN LAKE AND NAPA COUNTIES BURNS HISTORIC TOWNS, ROARS TO 40,000 ACRES

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4 firefighters injured battling blaze

By Miriam Raftery

Photo taken by a Cal Trans crew member

September 13, 2015 (Lake County, California)—Overnight, fueled by gasoline explosions, the Valley Fire grew from 400 acres to 40,000 acres, Cal Fire report.  The blaze has destroyed scores of buildings including the historic heart of Middletown, a historic silver mining town dating back to the 1880s. The communities of Cobb and Hidden Valley have also suffered extensive damage, ABC news reports.

Four firefighters from Lake County, all members of a helicopter crew, suffered second degree burns and are in stable condition at U.C. Davis Medical Center.

A CalTrans crew tweeted a photo of Middletown’s welcome sign in flames.  “Crews reporting downed lines all over the roads and the fire is not losing strength,” CalTrans wrote on Sunday morning, also warning motorists to stay off highways 29 and 175, which were shut down yesterday due to the fire.

Terrified residents fled quickly, some with little or no warning, taking shelter at the Napa County fairground, Kelseyville High School and Twin Pines Casino that opened its doors. 

Evacuations include numerous other towns still threatened by the flames in a region previously devastated by the 69,000 acre Lake Fire and 25,000 acre Jerusalem Fire, both contained in August. 

Fleeing residents reported that tanks at gas station as well as propane tanks exploded, rapidly fueling the blaze even as firefighting aircraft were grounded due to heavy smoke and darkness.

ABC news reports that an evacuee who worked for the U.S. Forest Service clearing fire lines for years said this fire is one of the worst he has ever seen.  “It looked like you don’t want to visit Hell, you were nearly in it,” he stated.

The cause of the Valley Fire remains under investigation.


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