Heat, Wind Spur California Fire; Evacuation Hits Nevada Area

BECKWOURTH, CALIFORNIA - A California wildfire that closed nearly 518 square kilometers of forest forced evacuations across state lines into Nevada on Friday as winds and scorching, dry weather drove flames forward through trees and brush.

The Beckwourth Complex — which began as two lightning-caused fires in Plumas National Forest — showed "extreme behavior," fire information officer Lisa Cox said Friday evening. Hot rising air formed a gigantic, smoky pyrocumulus cloud that reached thousands of feet high and created its own lightning, Cox said. Spot fires caused by embers leapt up to 1.6 kilometers ahead of the northeastern flank — too far for firefighters to safely battle, Cox said.