Thousands flee as wildfire rages in California amid heatwave
- The Mill Fire destroyed several buildings in northern California’s Siskiyou county, forcing many towns to be placed under mandatory evacuation orders
- Scientists say global warming is making natural weather variations more extreme
Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate their homes in northern California on Friday as a wildfire spread rapidly across more than 1,000 acres in extremely hot conditions.
Footage from a local ABC affiliate news channel showed several buildings ablaze in the so-called Mill Fire, which the Siskiyou county fire department warned was growing at a “dangerous rate of spread.”
Towns including Weed, Lake Shastina and Edgewood were placed under mandatory evacuation orders, children from a local high school were bused to safety, and a large animal and livestock evacuation shelter was set up.
“Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to leave now. The area is lawfully closed to public access,” said the evacuation order.
The inferno came as California and parts of Nevada and Arizona broiled under another day of blistering temperatures.