Wildfire Burns Hundreds Of Buildings As State Of Emergency Declared In California

Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty Images

Hundreds of structures were destroyed by a wind-whipped wildfire in Northern California over the weekend.

The Valley Fire remained completed uncontained Sunday afternoon, and the full amount of damage could not yet be assessed. But according to fire officials, the losses of homes and other buildings numbered in the hundreds.

Four firefighters were injured Saturday as California's governor declared a state of emergency.

Gov. Jerry Brown said Sunday that the declaration would help speed up some of the processes for the unknown number of people who lost their homes in the fire, the Associated Press reported.

The Valley Fire has burned more than 60 square miles in less than half a day. It is burning about 100 miles from San Francisco, with more than 1,000 firefighters responding to the flames.

Brown had already declared an emergency in a separate fire about 70 miles from Sacramento called the Butte fire, the AP reported. That fire has destroyed 86 homes.

A spokesman with the California Department of Fire and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire, tweeted on Saturday that the four firefighters who were hurt were taken to a nearby burn center to be treated for second-degree burns.

The injured firefighters were identified only as being from Copter 104, one of three helicopters battling the blaze from the air Saturday. They were in stable condition as of Saturday evening.

The Butte Fire in Lake County, just north of Sacramento, was started on Wednesday. It was about 30 percent contained as of Sunday but was still threatening over 6,000 homes.

A house burns as the Butte fire rages through Mountain Ranch, California, Friday.

Noah Berger / Reuters

Triple-digit temperatures last week created extremely dry conditions in the region, CalFire public information Chief Daniel Berlant said Sunday. The dry vegetation coupled with high winds led to the quick, destructive spread of both fires. Extensive evacuations remained in place in the area of both fires, and Berlant urged residents to be ready leave their homes quickly if necessary.

Other large blazes in the region included the Gasquet Complex fires, which had burned 29,708 acres by Saturday, and the Rough Fire, which had burned 128,796 acres.

It has also been a treacherous fire season for the West Coast. Three firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service were killed in August while fighting a brush fire in Washington. Another firefighter died in California in July fighting the Frog Fire.

As dry conditions continued, Berlant said the state could expect to see more destructive fires in coming months.

"It's only September," he said. "We still have several months of fire season to go."

LINK: Three Firefighters Killed In Washington Wildfire Mourned As More Towns Are Evacuated

LINK: Firefighter Killed In California Wildfire

SOURCE: BuzzFeed