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Thousands Flee Fast-Moving Northern California Wildfire

In hot and windy conditions, the fire spread roughly 500 acres in one hour.

A quick-moving wildfire prompted authorities to evacuate three towns in Siskiyou County, California, on Friday as flames spread at a rate of roughly 500 acres in one hour. According to a statement by the Siskiyou Sheriff's Office, around 5,000 residents fled their homes in the towns of Weed, Lake Shastina, and Edgewood. “I’ve been through it before, so long as the wind stays in the direction it is, I’m all right,” Marco Noriega, a brewmaster at Mount Shasta Brewing Company, told the Associated Press. “But I know the wind switches quickly.” The “red flag warning” issued by the National Weather Service for Siskiyou County is expected to last until 11 p.m. on Friday, with winds up to 31 miles per hour.