I would say that the valley fire in lake county will be one of the top 20 most devastating fires weve seen in california and the fire season itself has probably been the most extreme that ive seen in my 30 years with regards to the number of fires that weve seen statewide, the way these fires are starting and reading in and ending up in basically a migration is a rapid and very erratic spread of fire and its making it very, very difficult to fight and to get on and its putting people and property in harms way. And my colleague, Scott Schaefer spends part of the week in lake county as kqedsuki lewis. Welcome to you both. Suki, let me start with you. You were among the first allowed back into the fire zone. What did you see . It was as the sun was setting and we went through the blockade and there were still spot fires everywhere, and there was smoke rising from the bound and the big tree stumps from where the fire had burned to the ground and we were driving further down the road to a m
Live from the cbs bay area studios, this is kpix5 news. Tonight, an unprecedented disaster. Within 12 hours we had over 40,000 acres. That is unheard of. Burning out of control. It went all of the way around us. No stopping it, there was just watching the houses around us burn. The terrifying drive people were forced to make to get out alive. [beep] reporter and the entire community now reduced to ashes. It is remnants of someones life. At least one person has been killed in the firestorm ravaging fire in lake and napa. The damage is catastrophe. 400 homes are gone, entire neighborhoods wiped out. And tonight, the 50,000 acre fire is still burning completely out of control. Most of the destruction happened in the towns of cobb mountain, middletown and Hidden Valley lake. All 90 miles north of San Francisco. Here is a map of the current burn area. Right now the fire is running to the southeast into napa county. It is creeping northeast. Evacuation orders have extended to the clear lake
As zero. It was spraefwas spreading in a directions and pushing north. S believe 400 to 1,000 homes have been destroyed. 6400 homes are being threatened by the fire now forcing 17,000 people from their homes. Four firefighters have been injured responding to the fire and 27 people have been treated at lake and Sonoma County hospitals for smoke inhalation. Here is a look at the area hit by the fire. Its been devastated. Hidden valley lake boarders it on the east, middle town on the southern end. It spread to three counties. We want to show you this video shot last night at the Anderson Springs resident evacuating. You can see the flames on both sides of the car, thick smoke and debris flying across the windshield, all of those hot embers you see lighting up the sky coming right at him and you can see homes along with trees and vegetation burning alongside the road. Our abc 7 Community Showing incredible videos and photos. This one from kelly hear heartwrenching as she fled her home and
Anchors our coverage live from middletown now. This is one of the personal stories directly behind me. This is whats left of the sanchez family home. Investigators think the fire that caused so much destruction like this home here started about a 20minute drive away from here on Cobb Mountain. The public is not allowed up there, so kpix 5s john ramos went up there to give us a look. Reporter the search for the fires origin began with an ominous sign. Cobb mountain is not the same place anymore. Once known for vacation cabins and small resorts, cobb is now a silent display of natures most random devastation. Work crews are everywhere on the main road and as you climb higher, the mountain crests give a disturbing view of the size of the blaze. And if you look closely, there are plenty of grim surprises. There were warnings that something bad could happen but who really could have imagined this . Finally on a narrow street called high valley road, something unusual. Caution tape. Theres s
An inferno. Saw this massive ball in the sky. Reporter he raced over and saw the store a total loss. One of their Favorite Stores and one of their main means of food and other things down to the ground. Pretty shocking. Reporter firefighters spent all morning stamping out the hot spots. Theres a lot of fuel in any store fire but a Grocery Store has unique fuels to it. Reporter at this point, fire crews are keeping a close eye on the back wall of the Grocery Store. Theres concern that the wall could collapse. Theres Nothing Holding those walls up except the corners of the walls. Reporter if the back wall were to give way, it would likely crush four mobile homes. The American Red Cross is finding those families it a new place to stay. Back that front, a crowd forms. Many crushed to see their Grocery Store down. Maybe i can find another job. But not now. Im very, very sad. Reporter in san jose, mark kelly, kpix 5. Nobody was hurt. Fire crews are trying to figure out what caused the fire.