Wind-driven fires that ignited in the brush along an interstate burned at least 30 homes and slightly injured two firefighters on Tuesday, a city spokeswoman said.
Paramedics treated some residents for smoke inhalation, but no one had been taken to a hospital, city spokeswoman Connie Cochran said. The two injured firefighters quickly returned to the fire lines, she said.
Fire officials have not determined a cause of the blazes, which slowed traffic along Interstate 5 because of the thick smoke.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Clapp said the flames were driven by a north wind with gusts up to 30 mph, and that humidity in the area was low.
Near Sacramento, about 50 miles north of Stockton, a fire captain suffered second-degree burns to his hands and arms Tuesday when a wind-driven grass fire unexpectedly changed direction and intensity.
The captain and two members of his engine crew were protecting a mobile home from the 1,000-acre grass fire when the wind and flames changed direction, Sacramento Metro Fire Department Capt. Jeff Lynch said. The crew members were able to get inside the engine's cab but the captain didn't make it in time, Lynch said.
The firefighter was taken to a hospital but Lynch did not know his condition. The fire continued to burn out of control in a rural area south of Sacramento.