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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Historic Drought Fuels Nearly 2 Dozen California Wildfires

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

We're seeing one of the consequences of California's historic drought. It is fueling almost two dozen wildfires. The big concern right now is the Rocky Fire, burning about a hundred miles north of San Francisco. It's engulfed 62,000 acres. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: You'll know. If it's getting close...

KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: The Rocky Fire is burning through historically dry brush and oak-covered foothills that fire officials say haven't burned since records started being kept.

MANUEL BENTONCOURT: The unpredictable thing is the winds because one morning, they're northern winds, then they're western winds.

SIEGLER: In a neighborhood on the edge of a small town called Clear Lake, Manuel Bentoncourt points up to the black and orange smoke plume that's too close for comfort. He and his wife quickly packed up when police came through here warning them they may need to evacuate.

BENTONCOURT: I know they're trying their best and all that, but, you know, it puts you on edge.

SIEGLER: There are a lot of nervous people here right now. This is a mostly rural pocket of Northern California, populated with vineyards, cabins and retirement communities tucked into the woods. Margo Simpson is managing one of the two busy Red Cross shelters in this area.

MARGO SIMPSON: People are very stressed, and they don't know if their homes are still standing. They don't know where the fire has moved into. We don't have a lot of damage assessment information back yet.

SIEGLER: More than 3,000 state and local firefighters and other crews are battling the Rocky Fire, with more aid on the way today. Kirk Siegler, NPR News, Lakeport, Calif. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

As a correspondent on NPR's national desk, Kirk Siegler covers rural life, culture and politics from his base in Boise, Idaho.