Weed CA Fire - A devastating wildfire erupted in Weed, a small town in California, on Monday, burning down numerous homes, destroying a church and alarming about 1,500 local residents to evacuate the area.
According to CBS Local, the Weed, Ca fire was driven by fierce winds that hit the small town nestled near the Oregon border and the base of Mount Shasta in the Cascade Mountains.
The Weed, Ca fire reportedly struck a local sawmill and even burned a Catholic church down to the ground.
Authorities say the wildfire erupted at 1:30 p.m. and quickly escalated such that blowing embers could still be spotted about half a mile away from the town's facade, located around 50 miles south of the Oregon border.
"It was fast-moving, fanned by incredibly gusty winds of up to 40 mph," Daniel Berlant, a state fire spokesperson, said. "It went into and around the town."
Because the Weed, Ca fire was too strong, evacuations were ordered for Weed and two other outskirt subdivisions, with nearly 1,500 to 2,000 people requested to leave their homes, according to Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Allison Giannini.
Fortunately, the strong winds began to weaken later that day and the blaze slowly dwindled by force; hence, authorities were able to contain 15 percent of the fire by dusk.
"We stopped the forward spread of the fire," another state spokeswoman Suzy Brady told reporters.
About 100 homes were reportedly damaged by the Weed, Ca fire, which was believed to have started from the east side of the town.
On Tuesday, the evacuees returned to their homes though many were left with completely destroyed houses and burned-out cars, according to NBC News.
"Black land. Very flat. A lot of trees burned, a lot of sad, scared folks," Brady said of the landscape of blackened and charred wood left by the blaze.
"Feeling completely helpless, standing there with everyone not knowing what to do or where to go, was the scariest thing I've ever had to deal with," Tasha Davis, a mother of two and one of the evacuees who fled on Monday, gushed.
As per the town's website, it was named Weed after the prominent founder of a mill, Abner Weed, who "discovered that the area's strong winds were helpful in drying lumber."
Part of the elementary school was badly ruined by the Weed, Ca fire as well while the main stretch of Weed Boulevard comprising gas stations and several business establishments appear to be pristine and untouched.
The real cause of the Weed, California fire is yet to be determined as of late. The devastating occurrence comes after the Junction Fire that destroyed eight structures near downtown Oakhurst just early this summer.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
