"Thousands Flee ‘Mass Destruction’ as Valley, Butte, Rough Fires Widen"

"Two major wildland fires continued to burn out of control Sunday in Northern California despite the efforts of more than 5,000 firefighters to halt the progress of the blazes, which had burned hundreds of homes and scorched more than 164 square miles in Amador, Calaveras and Lake counties.

Thousands of residents fled for their lives as the flames approached, and California fire officials said the speed and destructive nature of the infernos were the worst they had seen in decades.

'The bushes, the trees have absolutely no moisture in them, and the humidities are so low that we are seeing these ‘fire starts’ just erupt into conflagrations,' said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. 'The fires are spreading faster than I have seen in my 30 years.'"

Sam Stanton, Tony Bizjak, Ed Fletcher, and Richard Chang report for the Sacramento Bee September 13, 2015.