Lightning sparks hundreds of fires in CaliforniaStory Highlights
NEW: Fire spreads across 4.7 square miles in Solano, Napa counties
Lightning sparks as many as 400 fires burning around Northern California
Fire near Watsonville is 90 percent contained
Watsonville fire has charred 630 acres, officials said
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SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- Wildfires were scattered around Northern California on Sunday, many of them started by lightning, as crews farther south were close to containing a blaze that had forced thousands to evacuate.
A California Dept. of Corrections firefighter takes down hot spots left behind in Watsonville, California, Saturday.
1 of 2 The largest had spread across 4.7 square miles of grassy woodland by early Sunday. It began Saturday afternoon in Napa County and quickly spread into a mostly rural area of Solano County.
The fire threatened 66 homes and two commercial properties as it burned in grassy woodland about 40 miles southeast of Sacramento, said Wayne Connor, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
It was 10 percent contained Sunday morning and had destroyed one empty building, Connor said. A mandatory evacuation had been ordered for some residents, said agency spokeswoman Nancy Carniglia. Watch wildfires burn in Napa »
Thunderstorms were responsible for more than 60 fires Saturday in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, about 160 miles north of Sacramento. Those fires ranged in size from less than an acre to more than 750 acres.
None immediately threatened homes, said Forest Service spokesman Michael Odle. Teams moved in Saturday on the two largest fires.
Other fires were scattered throughout Northern California, with 90 ranging up to 125 acres in the Mendocino County area alone, said officials of Cal Fire. Watch firefighters work to contain Trabing fire »
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office said Saturday that lightning had sparked nearly 400 fires from Monterey County to the California-Oregon line. The governor ordered the California National Guard to assist in firefighting efforts.
South of San Francisco, a fire that burned homes and closed a stretch of highway was 90 percent contained after charring 630 acres, or less than a square mile. Evacuation orders were lifted Saturday, a day after roughly 2,000 people fled their homes. Watch iReporter's video of Watsonville fire »
Cal Fire expected the fire to be fully contained Sunday.
It was the third major blaze to hit Santa Cruz County in the past month. A 520-acre blaze destroyed 11 buildings in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and a fire near Corralitos covered more than 4,200 acres and destroyed about 100 buildings.
To the south along the coast, firefighters worked against a nearly 80-square-mile fire in a remote part of the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County. It was about 55 percent contained.
In New Mexico, hundreds of firefighters battled blazes that had charred more than 100 square miles, including more than 4,000 acres on a ranch owned by media mogul Ted Turner.
The largest fire, 20 miles southwest of Hope, New Mexico, was 35 percent contained after charring about 64 square miles.
The fires were feeding on grass, brush, cacti and some pinon pine and juniper trees. No structures were threatened.
