California's Largest Wildfire Spreads to 54,000 Acres; Thousands Evacuated as More Homes Burnt

The Golden State is currently host to the largest wildfire to affect the state so far this year, involving 54,000 acres of land across three counties. It has since claimed the life of a firefighter as the blaze continued to rage on through the night, which is usually "a time when firefighters typically make progress, according to CNN.

"The Rocky Fire was only 5% contained Sunday and was feeding on the state's drought to grow actively," the news agency reported, citing California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) spokesman Daniel Berlant as its source.

"This has been a very fast-moving wildfire with the dry conditions and the weather not really cooperating with us over the past week," Berlant said.

The fire began last week and started its 20,000-acre run through the Lake County woodlands on Saturday at 4 p.m., The Press Democrat said. Cal Fire commander Scott Lindgren commented that a conflagration of this magnitude has "never happened before." He also observed that the blaze was "dramatic and unpredictable."

"State fire officials said Sunday they no longer know what to expect from the largest and fastest-growing of the 20-plus wildfires burning in California's drought-baked wildlands," the publication said. "No previous Lake County fire has matched the Rocky fire's behavior."

"We're reading the fire, reading the weather, looking at the topography and basing our attack on that," said Scott McLean, a Cal Fire spokesperson. "The fire will tell us what we need to do - if we're able to do it."

"The wildfire was burning in Lake, Yolo and Colusa counties northwest of Sacramento. More than 12,100 people in more than 5,100 structures were under some type of evacuation order or advisory as of Sunday afternoon," CNN said. "Almost 2,000 fire personnel, 180 engines, four air tankers and 19 helicopters are battling the Rocky Fire."

Statewide, no less than 8,000 firefighters were involved in containing the blaze, as well as large air tankers, "including at least one National Guard C-130."

Governor Jerry Brown has since declared a state of emergency Friday.

The firefighter who perished in the midst of the battle to contain the wildfire has been identified as David Ruhl from the U.S. Forest Service. The engine captain from South Dakota was near the Frog Fire in the Modoc National Forest when he was reported missing Thursday. Authorities are still investigating his death. He was reportedly "last known to be driving in a vehicle while responding to the fire," according to NBC News.

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