At Least 1,400 Homes Destroyed in 2 California Wildfires

The flames are threatening more homes.

ByABC News
September 20, 2015, 12:11 PM

— -- The number of homes destroyed by two active Northern California wildfires surpassed 1,400 today, officials said.

In Lake County, the Valley Fire has burned 888 homes, Cal Fire reported. The fire, which covers more than 75,000 acres, is 53 percent contained today, Cal Fire reported.

PHOTO: The charred remains of a car belonging to Leonard Neft, who has been missing since a wildfire tore through the area and destroyed his home days earlier, sits in the Anderson Springs area Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015, near Middletown, Calif.
The charred remains of a car belonging to Leonard Neft, who has been missing since a wildfire tore through the area and destroyed his home days earlier, sits in the Anderson Springs area Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015, near Middletown, Calif. Aided by drought, the flames have consumed more than 109 square since the fire sped Saturday through rural Lake County, less than 100 miles north of San Francisco. Cooler weather helped crews gain ground and the fire was 30 percent contained Wednesday.

In Amador and Calaveras counties, the Butte fire has burned 535 homes, Cal Fire said. The Butte fire, which spans more than 70,000 acres, is 70 percent contained, Cal Fire said.

PHOTO: The figure sits on a rock wall outside a hillside home destroyed by fire Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015, in Hidden Valley, Calif.
The figure sits on a rock wall outside a hillside home destroyed by fire Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015, in Hidden Valley, Calif. Two of California?s fastest-burning wildfires in decades overtook at several Northern California towns, destroying over a hundred homes and sending residents fleeing Sunday.
PHOTO: MIDDLETOWN, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Chandra Woodhouse feeds her chickens next to the ruins of her house, which burned in the Valley Fire, on September 15, 2015 in Middletown, California.
MIDDLETOWN, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Chandra Woodhouse feeds her chickens next to the ruins of her house, which burned in the Valley Fire, on September 15, 2015 in Middletown, California. The 104-square-mile fire destroyed 585 homes and hundreds of other structures.

The Valley fire and Butte fire are the sixth and seventh most destructive blazes in California's history, Cal Fire reported today.

According to Cal Fire, a total of five deaths were reported from the two fires.

PHOTO: Burnt chairs stand in front of a swimming pool beside a fire destroyed house after the Valley Fire swept through the town of Middletown, California, on September 16, 2015.
Burnt chairs stand in front of a swimming pool beside a fire destroyed house after the Valley Fire swept through the town of Middletown, California, on September 16, 2015. The governor of California declared a state of emergency as raging wildfires spread in the northern part of the drought-ridden US state, forcing thousands to flee the flames.

Nearly 10,500 firefighters are helping fight the blazes, Cal Fire said.

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