Northern California Wildfire Named 9th Most Destructive In State's History

LAKEPORT, Calif. (AP) – A pair of wildfires that prompted evacuation orders for nearly 20,000 people Monday to small lake towns in Northern California, and authorities faced questions about how quickly they warned residents about the largest and deadliest blaze burning in the state.

Ed Bledsoe told CBS News he did not receive any warning to evacuate his home in the city of Redding before the flames came out of his wife, Melody, and his great-grandchildren, 5-year-old James Roberts and 4- year-old Emily Roberts.

"Bledsoe said.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told the network there's an investigation into whether the Bledsoe receives a warning call or a knock on the door. The sheriff cited evidence that door-to-door notifications were made in the area.

The Dispute Dispatches on the Mentocino and Lake Counties, including from the 4,700-resident town of Lakeport, a popular destination for bbad anglers and boaters on the shores of Clear Lake, about 120 miles north of San Francisco.

The blazes have destroyed seven homes and threatening 10,000 others. So far, the flames have blackened more than 68,000 acres – well over 100 square miles – with minimal containment.

By early evening, the town of Lakeport seemed to be completely deserted, while a few miles away embers, ash and smoke swirled through vineyards where one has gone up in flames. Firefighters set blazes at the bottom of the hill tops. A fleet of aircraft made continuous water and fire retardant drops on the blaze.

Those fires were among the 17 burning of the state, where fire crews were stretched to the limit.

"We have experienced fires the last four years, and we are very aware of what can happen with fires and the They also cause, "Lake County Sheriff Lt. Corey Paulich said.

Fire crews also have been battling this summer, parched foothills. A 10-acre fire damaged 11 units of an apartment building Monday in Santa Clarita, northwest of Los Angeles, county fire officials said.

Derick Hughes II did not heed the order and remained behind in Nice, California, where he was born in the spring of 1965 and was born in the south of the country.

The 32-year-old Marine Corps is a veteran of the United States. But he said he had too much at stake to leave himself.

"This is everything I've been working on, I'm working really hard to get to where I am, and I'm just not willing to give it up easily, "he said over the phone. "Some people may think that's selfish of me, and I have insurance. But the way things go, I'd rather not start over. "

Hughes said they were getting away from their homes and leaving them

Farther north, police said five people were arrested on suspicion of entering evacuated areas of the explosive wildfire around Redding.

That blaze is now believed to be the most destructive in-state, California Department of Forestry and Fire Spokesman protection Scott McLean said.

The blaze, which killed two firefighters and four civilians, killed 1618 homes and 311 outbuildings and damaged 165 homes, McLean said.

More than 27,000 people remained evacuated from their

The fire's northwestern

The Fire's Northwestern

The Fire's Northwestern

The Fire That Threatened Redding – a city of about 92,000 – 10 minutes west of the city. On Thursday, it swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, fueled by gusty winds and dry vegetation. He then jumped to the Sacramento River and took out subdivisions on the western edge of Redding.

"It was not expected to be that fast," Mclean said.

The fire slowed down as winds subsided, and crews

Bledsoe said he did not know his home was in danger when he left his wife and great-grandchildren to run an errand on Thursday. He said he got a phone call from his wife. He said one of the children told him the blaze was at the back door. When it was tried to return, the road was blocked and flames to a certain extent

The sheriff has said the fire was moving fast, but still alerted residents in a variety of ways, including going door-to-door and using loudspeakers on emergency vehicles.

emergency alert system that is repeated by local and regional media and an automated calling system that can be targeted to within a geographic area. Sherry Bartolo, operations manager for the Shasta County dispatch center, said: "The drawback of the automated calling system is that it was designed to dial landlines, but they said they would register their phones if they were to receive alerts,

The dispatch center put out more than 18 emergency alerts between Thursday and midday Friday, Bartolo said.

The center usually had eight dispatchers on duty, but overnight Thursday, June 26, 2009 at 12, along with four supervisors and three managers who worked through the night, she said.