Surging wildfire tears through northern California town and threatens others

Caldor fire explodes in size as Pacific Gas & Electric begins shutting off power to 51,000 customers

Critically dangerous fire weather was forecast across northern California from Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday evening, threatening to intensify several large blazes and increasing the risk of new ones, as a small rural town in the Sierra Nevada was ravaged by a fire that grew with devastating speed.

The Caldor fire, which erupted over the weekend, exploded in size on Tuesday and ran through the town of Grizzly Flats, destroying many buildings and forcing residents to leave. Two were injured. Officials estimated that the blaze had blown through 30,000 acres - up from 6,500 acres reported by the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) earlier that day.