A fast-moving wildfire ripped through rolling hills and ranch land in rural northern California on Tuesday, after destroying 30 homes overnight and prompting more than 500 area residents to evacuate, fire officials said.
The so-called Clover Fire, which broke out on Monday afternoon, has already scorched some 7,400 acres near the rural community of Happy Valley in Shasta County, some 200 miles north of San Francisco, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Temperatures above 100 degrees have made for tough conditions on the fire lines, and four people, three of them firefighters, have been treated for smoke inhalation, CalFire spokeswoman Teresa Rea said.
In addition to the 30 homes considered total losses, at least another 50 outbuildings had been damaged or destroyed by the blaze, named after its place of origin, Cloverdale Road near Happy Valley. Officials had earlier said 80 structures were destroyed and 30 more damaged.
Some 300 homes remained under threat, prompting the evacuations and a number of road closures in the area. The fire was 40 percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon.
CalFire spokesman Mike Witesman said the blaze was moving quickly over hilly, rocky terrain and consuming dense vegetation, including grass, shrubs, oak and pine trees.
"Because of the very dry weather we've had, the conditions are very volatile," he said, adding that on Monday the flames had spread at a rate of about 500 acres per hour.
More than 1,120 firefighters were on the ground on Tuesday, digging containment lines around the blaze, while air tankers dropped water and fire retardant on the flames.