CalFire firefighters walk along Highway 20 as the Rocky Fire burns near Clearlake, Calif. The fire has charred more than 27,000 acres and is currently only 5% contained. Josh Edelson, AFP/Getty Images
Unprecedented wildfire conditions are making the "Rocky Fire" blaze a difficult one to suppress.
Many homeowners have been evacuated but others are deciding to stay…here's an important message from a homeowner in Clearlake with "Ready, Set, Go!" language entwined:
"For people who think they are going to stay and defend their property to the end, well, I got news for them: you won't be able to breathe by the time the fire reaches you so there's no point in staying." - Rick Sanders, homeowner.
A massive, fast-moving wildfire has destroyed at least 24 homes and threatens another 6,300 in a drought-stricken area about 100 miles north of San Francisco.
"The grass, the brush, the trees, they are tinder-dry," said CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant. More than 12,000 people had been evacuated from the area around Clearlake, Calif., located about 100 miles north of San Francisco and 100 miles northwest of Sacramento.
Homeowners are doing what they can to prepare but fear they are "one gust of wind away from devastation."
"We are seeing burning conditions that are almost unprecedented." - Paul Lowenthal, Santa Rosa firefighter.