High winds in Calif. hamper firefighters

SACRAMENTO, June 13 (UPI) -- Firefighters battling a northern California wildfire were coping Friday with shifting gusty winds and hot temperatures.

The Humboldt fire in Butte County, which started Wednesday, had grown to more than 20,000 acres by Friday morning, the Los Angeles Times reported. At least 40 houses had burned.

On Thursday, some areas in Paradise, Calif., a community of 30,000 people 90 miles north of Sacramento, were evacuated.

Alisha Herring, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the Times the fire was about 15 percent contained Friday morning.

"The winds are making it very difficult to allow the crews to get ahead of the fire," she said.

About 1,300 firefighters were on the ground with tanker planes fighting the fire from the air.

Only a few minor injuries had been reported.