Publication Date August 3, 2015 | NBC News

Rocky Fire in California Swells to 54,000 Acres

United States
The Rocky Fire in Lake County, California, is generating enough smoke to be seen from space. Image: Jeff Schmalt, NASA Goddard's MODIS Rapid Response Team
The Rocky Fire in Lake County, California, is generating enough smoke to be seen from space. Image: Jeff Schmalt, NASA Goddard's MODIS Rapid Response Team

A massive wildfire west of Sacramento, California, spanned 54,000 acres Sunday, up from 27,000 acres the previous evening. The Rocky Fire, in Lake, Colusa and Yolo counties, was just 5 percent contained late Sunday afternoon, CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant said...This "is a very dangerous fire"...Brown ordered a state of emergency Friday night to mobilize additional crews and resources. "California's severe drought and extreme weather have turned much of the state into a tinderbox," he said.