Massive California wildfire jumps containment line

As firefighters battle a massive Northern California wild land blaze threatening numerous homes, some of the 13,000 people urged to flee their residences were spending what may be just one of many nights in evacuation shelters.

The blaze that has charred nearly 97 square miles of brush and timber jumped a highway Monday that had served as a containment line. Its rapid growth caught firefighters off guard and shocked residents.

Cooler weather had helped crews build a buffer between the wildfire and some of the thousands of homes it threatened as it tore through drought-withered brush in Lake County.

At least two dozen homes have been destroyed over the past few days. The fire – the largest blaze in drought-stricken California – roughly tripled in size over the weekend.

The fire was burning in the Lower Lake area, about 100 miles north of San Francisco.