Wildfire In California Gold Country Grows Overnight

QUINCY (AP) - A massive wildfire in a remote area of California's gold country grew overnight to more than 68 square miles (178 square kilometers), officials said Monday.

The U.S. Forest Service said containment on the blaze in the Plumas National Forest remains at 7 percent.

Erratic winds were making conditions difficult for the more than 800 firefighters battling the blaze.

Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for scattered rural properties in the forest, the forest service said.

Walker Fire Mandatory Evacuation Orders

-Highway 395 from Thunder Mountain Road (Wales Canyon) to the Laufman Grade (Old Highway 59)
-This includes the communities of Milford, Brockman Canyon, Antelope Lake to the Plumas County line, the Genesee Valley Road corridor, the Ward Creek Area and the Flournoy Bridge area
-Highway 395 is open to through traffic, but several roads in the area remain closed.

To the west in Tehama County, fire crews have contained 50 percent of a blaze that has destroyed two structures and burned nearly 14 square miles. The blaze started by lighting Thursday has burned through brush and timber west of Red Bluff. It led to mandatory evacuations that remain in place.

Further south, a fire along the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada southwest of Big Pine grew significantly to more than 16 square miles (41 square kilometers), and was 10 percent contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Monday. The fire erupted Wednesday evening about 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of Los Angeles and the cause is under investigation.

A fire that threatened homes in the Murrieta area of Southern California last week was 90 percent contained.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press.