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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An intense fire broke out Thursday in the Shasta-Trinity Forest in northern California, threatening many homes and closing a highway following the escape of motorists.
Smoke rises as the Great Delta Fire spreads along Shasta County, California, United States on September 5, 2018, on this photo obtained on September 6, 2018 from a social media video . PATROUILLE OF CALIFORNIA / via REUTERS
The Delta fire erupted Wednesday in a canyon along the Sacramento River about 250 miles north of San Francisco and on Thursday morning it had burned more than 15,000 acres, three times the area burned 12 hours more early.
The fire was near where Carr's deadly fire cremated hundreds of homes in and around the town of Redding this summer. This fire left eight dead and became one of California's most destructive wildfires.
No casualties were reported in the Delta fire, but there were some close calls.
On Wednesday, the fire crossed Interstate-5, forcing motorists to flee on foot before the flames invaded their cars and trucks, said Brandon Vaccaro, spokesman for the command team. firefighters from Delta.
Vaccaro said a 45-mile stretch of the north-south route that runs through all of California has remained closed in both directions, forcing motorists to travel north to Redding to travel 120 miles.
The flames were an immediate threat to about 150 homes and other buildings in the sparsely populated area, with about 300 people subject to mandatory evacuation orders, Vaccaro said. Further north, an evacuation warning was in effect for the picturesque town of Dunsmuir, advising some 1,600 residents to be ready to flee at any time.
The fire raged with the same extreme intensity seen in several devastating fires in recent months.
Fueled by drought-stricken pine forests and dotted with dead and dying woods, the flames spread rapidly, burning entire trees and leaping trees to the top of the trees while throwing down hot embers in drier vegetation.
"It's extremely difficult to get ahead," Vaccaro told Reuters by phone.
On Thursday, firefighters had not been able to control the fire, Vaccaro said, but it is hoped that a gradual rise in humidity will help slow the growth of the fire over the next few days.
The Delta fire was one of 15 fires that ravaged California this week. In California, three times more land was destroyed this year than at the same point in 2017, making it one of the most destructive seasons ever recorded.
Report by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by James Dalgleish
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