The Associated Press reports that the Northern California town of San Andreas – population 2,700 – is no longer under an evacuation order but residents have been told to be prepared to leave as a big and fast-growing wildfire burns nearby.

The fire has exploded in size over the last few days to 65,000 acres, and is responsible for the destruction of at least six homes.

California governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for the counties experiencing the inferno, as it approaches the town of San Andreas, about 60 miles south-east of Sacramento in the Sierra Nevada region.

Hundreds of residents from tiny rural communities in Calaveras and Amador counties where the fire is burning remain under evacuation orders.

Firefighters are clearing strains with bulldozers across the Grant Grove and placing up sprinklers, stated Andy Isolano, a spokesman for the Clovis Hearth Division.

A firefighter turns his head from the flame of the Butte Fire…

“It’s expanding like a balloon”.

The grove is named for the towering General Grant tree that stands 268 feet tall.

Meanwhile police in Orange County arrested a man on suspicion of starting a fire Tuesday that burned 80 acres and came close to neighborhoods in La Habra and Fullerton before it was fully contained. About 130 people live in Dunlap.

Giant sequoias are naturally flame-resistant, and most of the area’s trees show scars from past wildfires, but authorities say they don’t want to take any chances especially as four years of drought have left them particularly vulnerable.

Lightning strikes July 31 sparked the wildfire in the Kings Canyon National Park east of Fresno.

Years of drought have stressed millions of pine trees on forestland, making them more susceptible to bark beetle attacks.

In addition, mandatory evacuations were also ordered Friday for the city of Angels Camp, including all areas on the east side of Main Street: Murphys Grade Road, Gardner Lane, Holly Street, Casey Street, Easy Street, Kirby Street, Avey Place, Broglio Court, Country Lane, Elderberry Lane, Dogtown Road, Clifton Road and Brunner Hill.

Steep terrain was causing the fire to spread rapidly, as the heat from flames warms areas above the fire and makes it more likely to ignite, Cal Fire Capt. Josh Rubinstein said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.