By Don Thompson
The Associated Pres

AP Photo/Steve Yeater Stockton, Calif. firefighters put water on the interior of a home destroyed by a fast wind driven fire on Tuesday. The fire destroyed at least 30 homes and slightly injured two firefighters on Tuesday, a city spokeswoman said.

PALERMO, Calif. — Fires fed by raging winds raced across parts of Northern California on Tuesday, destroying dozens of homes, threatening hundreds of others and leaving a firefighter severely burned.

The fires were concentrated in areas north and south of Sacramento, the state capital, while separate blazes burned near the coast.

A nearly 2-square-mile (5.2-square-kilometer) wildfire destroyed 21 homes and about 30 other structures in Palermo, a town of about 5,000 residents, said Joshpae White, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman.

The community about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Sacramento was evacuated temporarily while at least 350 firefighters fought to protect homes. About 50 residents planned to spend the night at an evacuation center.

A fire captain fighting a blaze just south of Sacramento was hospitalized with severe burns after the grass fire unexpectedly changed direction and became more intense.

Sacramento Metro Fire Department Capt. Jeff Lynch said the captain was heavily sedated in the University of California, Davis Regional Burn Center in Sacramento with third-degree burns to his hands and second-degree burns to his arms.

Also south of Sacramento, several fires that ignited along Interstate 5 in Stockton blew out of control. The fires damaged or destroyed 30 homes, said Connie Cochran, a city spokeswoman. Another two dozen homes suffered more minor damage.

Two firefighters were treated for minor injuries in the Stockton blazes, Cochran said.

Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said 40 mph (64 kph) winds were fanning an out-of-control 1.5-square-mile (3.88-square-kilometer) fire near Sacramento.

Firefighters backed by helicopters and air tankers hoped to make progress across the region Tuesday evening when the wind died and temperatures cooled, but winds were expected to pick up again Wednesday and Thursday.

Grass, brush and trees are in matchstick condition across California after the driest March, April and May on record.

Across the country in eastern North Carolina, winds whipped up a 64-square-mile (166-square- kilometer) wildfire, forcing the evacuation of 50 homes, officials said. The fire was sparked June 1 by a lightning strike and is about 40 percent contained, officials said.

Firefighters scrambled to strengthen and build about 20 miles (32 kilometers) of containment lines as the blaze approached the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.