About 10,000 more people were ordered evacuated as two wildfires surged toward small lake towns in Northern California while the state's largest and deadliest blaze of the year slowed slightly after days of explosive growth.
The twin fires in Mendocino and Lake counties flared up late Sunday (Monday NZT), forcing the new evacuations from the 4700-resident town of Lakeport and other communities near Clear Lake, about 120 miles (195km) north of San Francisco.
The blazes have destroyed six homes and threaten 10,000 others. So far, the flames have blackened 87 square miles (225 square km), with minimal containment.
Those fires were among 17 burning across the state, where fire crews were stretched to the limit.
To the north, near Redding, California, where an unpredictable blaze killed six people, a man whose wife and two great-grandchildren were among the dead, said he did not receive any warning to evacuate.
Ed Bledsoe told CBS News he did not know his home was in danger when he left his wife, Melody, and the 4- and 5-year-old children to run an errand.
"If I'd have any kind of warning, I'd have never ever left my family in that house," Bledsoe said.
Bledsoe said he received a phone call from his wife 15 minutes after he left saying he needed to get home because the fire was approaching.
He said one of the children told him the blaze was at the back door. When he tried to return, the road was blocked and flames prevented him from returning on foot.
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told the network there's an investigation into whether the Bledsoe home received a warning call or a knock on the door.
The sheriff said there is evidence that door-to-door notifications were made in the area.
Crews handling the blaze near Redding struck a hopeful tone for the first time in days as the massive fire slowed after days of rapid expansion. As of Monday, California time, the Redding fire had destroyed 723 homes.
"We're feeling a lot more optimistic today as we're starting to gain some ground rather than being in a defensive mode on this fire all the time," said Bret Gouvea, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's incident commander on the blaze around Redding, a city about 230 miles (370km) north of San Francisco.
Authorities were also investigating at least 18 missing persons reports, though many of them may simply be people who have not checked in with friends or family, police said.
The Carr Fire that threatened Redding - a city of about 92,000 people - was ignited by a vehicle problem a week ago about 10 miles (16km) west of the city.
On Thursday (Friday NZT), it swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, fueled by gusty winds and dry vegetation.
It then jumped the Sacramento River and took out subdivisions on the western edge of Redding.
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