Lake County Man Missing After Valley Fire Chews Through Home, Car
LAKE COUNTY (CBS SF) -- Several Lake County people remain unaccounted for Wednesday morning in the devastating Valley Fire.
Leonard Neft, 69, last spoke to his family Saturday as the fire raged near his house in Anderson Springs.
He told his wife he didn't feel threatened. Authorities found his burned out car Tuesday night on a road that he might have tried to use as an escape route.
As of 6:40 a.m. Wednesday, the fire is now 30 percent contained, according to Cal Fire. The fast-moving fire has scorched 70,000 acres since it started Saturday afternoon.
Fire officials report 585 homes and hundreds of other structures have already been destroyed. Meanwhile, 9,000 structures remain threatened.
Cal Fire reports 2,793 fire personal were battling the blaze as of Wednesday morning. Hundreds of additional crews were brought in overnight. As weather cleared, firefighting aircraft were brought in to support control operations.
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In the latest Fire Situation Report on Periscope, a Cal Fire spokesperson said there weather is helping but "we can't become complacent. This fire has a lot of ability to grow. It only takes a couple of hot spots to jump off the line."
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Crews are working to build containment all the way around the perimeter. The fire is about 100 square miles, about twice the size of San Francisco. "The hope is containment will be built before the weather shifts," he said.
All schools in Lake County are closed because of the fire.
