Fast-moving fire ravages small town

Associated Press

WEED, Calif.

They had prepared for wildfires and knew of the drought-parched forests, but the inferno that swirled through the California lumber town of Weed moved so quickly, all people could do was flee.

In just a few hours, wind-driven flames destroyed or damaged 100 homes, the sawmill and a church. At times, the fire moved so fast that residents had only a few minutes to get out of the way.

On Tuesday, the “Weed Like To Welcome You” town sign still stood, but nothing else was normal as stunned residents assessed the damage, took stock of what they lost and gave thanks for what was saved.

“At the peak, essentially the entire town was evacuated,” state fire spokesman Robert Foxworthy said.

Disastrous as the fire was for the community of 3,000 people, daybreak brought gratitude and relief that there were no reports of death or even serious injuries.

The intense blaze erupted Monday south of Weed. Elsewhere in the state, hundreds of firefighters battled about a dozen other persistent blazes.

Winds gusting up to 40 mph pushed the flames into town, where they quickly chewed through a hillside neighborhood. The cause is still under investigation.

“It went through here so fast, it was unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Jim Taylor, a retired butcher who has lived in the town for 30 years, said Tuesday. “I’m not a real religious person, but somebody was looking out for me.”

Taylor said fire bombers dropped retardant over his house. As his home and his deck furniture turned pink from the retardant, another house nearby erupted into flames. Across the street, pine and oak trees were burned to a crisp, and small flames and smoke drifted up from chunky embers.

The town and the forest that surrounds it were a tinderbox after three years of drought. And Weed’s winds are notorious.