New California blaze threatens 5,000 evacuationsStory Highlights
Authorities notifying residents through phone calls and door-to-door visits
Camp Fire had burned 9,600 acres and was 5 percent contained
Temperature could reach 115 with low humidity, spokeswoman says
20,000 firefighters battling 330 active wildfires with 1,400 engines, 97 copters
(CNN) -- A new blaze in northern California threatened 2,000 structures and may force 5,000 residents to evacuate, adding to a spate of wildfires in the state, a state spokeswoman said.
Firefighters Evan Scott and Matt Luis monitor the Basin Complex Fire Monday in Monterey County, California.
1 of 3more photos » The Camp Fire started Monday night near the city of Concow, said Mary Ann Aldrich of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
The cause of the fire, about 90 miles north of Sacramento, was not known, she added.
Authorities were notifying residents through phone calls and door-to-door visits, she said.
By late Monday, the Camp Fire had burned 9,600 acres and was 5 percent contained, Aldrich said.
"A lot of these residents were just taken off a precautionary evacuation several days ago, so for about 10 days they've been under an evacuation or a precautionary," Julie Hutchinson, another Cal Fire spokeswoman, said from Chico, California.
The Camp Fire is among 1,780 blazes that have scorched more than 614,000 acres in California in the last two weeks. Most of the fires have been caused by lightning strikes. Watch flames roar near Goleta »
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There were still 330 active fires Tuesday that were being battled by about 20,000 federal, state and local firefighters using more than 1,400 engines and 97 helicopters, authorities said.
Forty residences, one commercial building and 61 outbuildings such as sheds and garages have been destroyed, according to Cal Fire. Thousands of other structures remain at risk, it said. iReport.com: View, share images of wildfires
Extremely hot, dry, breezy weather is not helping. Temperatures could reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity in the single digits, Hutchinson said.
Cal Fire issued "red flag" warnings along the coastal range from San Benito County north to the Oregon state line. The warnings will remain in effect through Wednesday evening, according to Cal Fire's Web site
