Boles Fire roars through Weed, burning homes, forcing evacuations Siskiyou County hit worst as 12 major fires rage in state

Firefighters try to protect buildings on Center Street in Weed from the Boles Fire, which damaged at least 100 structures. Firefighters try to protect buildings on Center Street in Weed from the Boles Fire, which damaged at least 100 structures. Photo: Greg Barnette, Associated Press Photo: Greg Barnette, Associated Press Image 1 of / 19 Caption Close Boles Fire roars through Weed, burning homes, forcing evacuations 1 / 19 Back to Gallery

Weed,Siskiyou County --

A giant, wind-whipped fire roared through the town of Weed on Monday, forcing as many as 2,000 residents to flee as homes and buildings erupted in flames and firefighters struggled to control an inferno that caught them by surprise.

The blaze, called the Boles Fire, broke out about 1:30 p.m. in the dry grass just outside town and, fanned by gusting 40 mph winds, jumped Highway 97 and raced into the community as terrified residents fled. The flames burned into town before firefighters had a chance to respond.

By evening, 350 acres had burned and more than 100 structures were damaged or destroyed, but firefighters had the blaze 15 percent contained, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials. Locals at the scene said the burned buildings included homes, the town mill and other businesses.

In the hour before midnight, a stiff wind still blew through town and the stench of smoke filled the air. Fire rigs made their way through the streets en route to hot spots.

"This was a very destructive, fast-moving fire," said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for Cal Fire, which was leading the firefighting effort and had previously deployed additional staff members to the area because of the extreme fire danger. "Because of the dry conditions and these gusty winds, this fire was able to easily burn into the town before firefighters were able to get there and fight back. Obviously any fire that burns right up to a community is going to be frightening for those residents."

Mass evacuations

Between 1,500 and 2,000 residents were forced to evacuate, including the entire towns of Weed, Carrick and Lake Shastina. The fire was headed toward Interstate 5 as the sun went down Monday, and firefighters were reportedly battling to save Angel Valley, a rural area at least half of which was said to have burned.

The Red Cross opened an evacuation center at the Siskiyou County Fairgrounds in Yreka. There were no reports of injuries or fatalities, but, Berlant said, "obviously that is a concern for us and we will continue to assess it this evening."

Firefighters reported seeing fireballs whipping in front of the main body of the fire.

"We saw embers going ahead of the fire," Berlant said. "It caught brush, trees and structures, anything in its path.

The Boles Fire is one of 12 major wildfires in the state, 11 of them in Northern California, with nearly 6,000 firefighters scrambling to beat back advancing flames. They are among at least 4,800 fires that have broken out this year in California, at least 1,000 more than in the average year, according to Cal Fire.

The problem is that the dry conditions, exacerbated by inland temperatures consistently in the 90s, have recently become explosive as the winds have begun to kick up - a common occurrence this time of year.

"All of these things mean that the fuels are especially ready to burn," said John Buckley, a former U.S. Forest Service fire expert and now the director of the Central Sierra Environmental Resources Center. "The drought simply adds to the seasonal extremes that California already faces every summer and fall season."

Rain in the forecast

Rain is forecast for Northern California on Wednesday, thanks to Hurricane Odile, the Category 2 hurricane that struck Mexico's Baja California peninsula overnight Sunday.

The projected rainfall is not expected to be significant, but it could aid in fighting the fire. It would be the first precipitation since July, when parts of the Bay Area recorded a few hundredths of an inch. The last significant rain in the drought-stricken Bay Area came in March.

Rain would be a welcome sight in the Sierra, where another wildfire tore through a community 14 miles south of Yosemite National Park, where weary firefighters were just getting a handle on the 4,772-acre Meadow Fire, which has been burning since last week.

More than 1,000 people were forced to flee the Courtney Fire near Oakhurst (Madera County). By Monday evening, it had destroyed 33 homes and 28 outbuildings, but 400 people were allowed to return home, Cal Fire said.

The blaze grew to 320 acres and was 35 percent contained as of Monday evening. Four hundred firefighters were battling the flames in steep terrain in the northern part of Oakhurst near the community of Bass Lake Heights.

Meanwhile, a 3,900-acre wildfire was devouring dry brush and timber along the south fork of the American River near Pollock Pines (El Dorado County) about 57 miles east of Sacramento, Cal Fire officials said. The fire, which was 10 percent contained Monday, forced the evacuation of more than 100 homes on the east side of Forbay Road between King of the Mountain Road and Pony Express Trail.

Highly flammable weeds

Fire experts aren't surprised. Invasive fire-prone weeds have taken over in many areas of Northern and Southern California, creating kindling for fire. Even a common groundcover like bear clover, also known as mountain misery, has become exponentially more flammable during the drought.

"It is very oily, so even though it is only 16 to 24 inches tall, there can be flames coming off of it in normal years of 4 to 6 feet, but in drought years like this one, there can be flame heights 8 to 10 feet tall," he said.

Buckley said the native fuels adapted over thousands of years to the lightning-caused fires that regularly broke out in California. The most problematic in a drought situation, he said, are manzanita, younger ponderosa pine trees and incense cedars. The three are all highly flammable and close to the ground, creating a fuel ladder from the grass to the overstory trees.

The result, he said, are fires like the one in Siskiyou County.

Weed's mill and its outbuildings were reported to be in flames Monday afternoon, but a full assessment of the damage will have to come later, Berlant said.

"This is easily one of, if not the most, destructive fires that we've battled this year," Berlant said. "We've been preparing for the potential of a very destructive fire season with how dry this fire season has been, and unfortunately this fire lives up to those predictions."

Chronicle staff writers Kurtis Alexander and Kevin Fagan contributed to this report.