Evacuations after structures burn in Northern California

ANDERSON, Calif. (AP) — Evacuations were ordered Thursday after a fire burned structures and scorched vegetation in Northern California, authorities said.

The blaze broke out around mid-afternoon in Shasta County, just south of Redding, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

The fire quickly grew to 200 acres (80 hectares). Structures were involved, but Cal Fire didn’t say how many burned or whether any were houses.

An evacuation center was set up at a high school in Anderson, home to about 11,000 residents. Officials didn’t immediately say how many people were under evacuation orders.

The cause of the Peter Fire was under investigation.

Meanwhile, California firefighters continued to battle a wildfire in Yosemite National Park. The blaze on the western flank of the Sierra Nevada had scorched about 6.8 square miles (17/6 square km) but was 23% contained as of Thursday, according to an incident update.

The Washburn Fire had threatened a grove of giant sequoias before starting to burn eastward into the Sierra National Forest on Wednesday.