LOWER LAKE, Calif. — A wind-whipped wildfire decimated a hardscrabble California town, destroying more than 175 homes, businesses and other structures, including a Habitat for Humanity office, in an area that was spared last year by another major blaze, officials said Monday.
The fast-moving wildfire had spread to more than six square miles in the Lower Lake area about 90 miles north of San Francisco.
It was just 5 percent contained, though late in the day fire officials said no other structures were under direct threat.
Weather conditions bedeviled firefighters Monday and the forecast called for temperatures to reach the upper 90s in coming days, with no rain in sight. A heat wave and gusty winds also put Southern California on high fire alert.
Underlying it all is a five-year drought that has sapped vegetation of moisture.
For the first time in several generations, wildfire had stalked Lower Lake last year during a devastating period from the end of July through September. Three major blazes blackened towns and mountainous wildland within a few miles to the east and south of town.
The new reality roared into Lower Lake on Sunday, when wind-driven flames fed by pines in the mountains and oaks that cluster on the rolling hills close to town wiped out whole blocks, authorities said.
Thousands of people fled the area — some after ensuring their goats and chickens were safe.
Lower Lake is home to about 1,300 mostly working class people and retirees who are drawn by its rustic charm and housing prices that are lower than the San Francisco Bay Area.
The fire in Lower Lake reduced businesses to little more than charred foundations that were still smoldering on Monday.