OUT OF CONTROL

California Wildfire Now Three Times the Size of San Francisco

Fire officials warn the blaze, which has already destroyed nine buildings, is likely to get worse over the weekend.

A raging Northern California wildfire that prompted scores of evacuations over the Fourth of July holiday has destroyed nine buildings, officials said Thursday. The so-called County Fire, which is burning its way through an area about 45 miles northwest of Sacramento, has already consumed some 135 square miles since it broke out Saturday and is expected to get worse over the weekend due to hotter, drier weather. As of Thursday, at least 2,500 people in the Napa and Yolo counties have been told to evacuate as more than 4,000 firefighters battle the blaze, which is 33 percent contained. The County Fire is one of a spate of fires tearing through the Western states, with fire crews also battling blazes throughout Colorado and Utah.