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California Wildfires: Jerusalem Fire Grows Near Napa Wine Country, Threatening Homes

Evacuation orders have been expanded.
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By Erin McClam

A wildfire burning north of California wine country has grown to more than 14,000 acres and is threatening dozens of homes.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said that the blaze, known as the Jerusalem fire, was only 5 percent contained early Wednesday. More than 1,100 firefighters were battling the blaze, which broke out Sunday in the heavy brush about 100 miles outside San Francisco.

Evacuation orders were expanded on Tuesday. It was not clear how many people had been forced to leave.

Farther north, the largest wildfire burning in California, known as the Rocky fire, was almost 90 percent contained. It was burning across about 70,000 acres and had destroyed 43 homes.

Hundreds of people were forced from their homes because of that fire before evacuation orders were lifted on Saturday.

Erin McClam

Erin McClam is a senior writer for NBC News, responsible for reporting, writing and editing general news for NBCNews.com. Prior to joining the site in January 2013, McClam worked at The Associated Press, where he spent 13 years and was most recently financial markets editor. In that role, McClam was responsible for a team of five reporters and a deputy editor that covered the stock and bond markets, financial regulation and the nation's largest banks.

Prior to that role, McClam held a variety of jobs at AP, including being a national correspondent and an original member of its Top Stories Desk editing operation.

McClam lives in New York.