July 26, 2014: This photo shows the Sand Fire as it burns approximately 40 miles northeast of Sacramento, California. (Photo courtesy Fox40.com)

Fire officials in northern California said late Saturday that a rapidly spreading blaze has torched over 3,000 acres and forced the evacuation of over 500 homes.

Evacuation orders were expanded to include approximately 265 homes in Amador County. Previous orders had covered about 250 homes about 40 miles east of Sacramento.

Since it broke out at around 5 p.m. Friday, the so-called Sand Fire has destroyed five homes and seven outbuildings. Many vineyards are in the area but the flames were moving away from them, said Lynn Tolmachoff, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

“The drought is very severe here. All the plants are catching fire and spreading very easily,” Tolmachoff said.

Soon after it started, the fire crossed the Cosumnes River into more rugged terrain, quickly spreading to dry, thick brush and woodland terrain near vineyards in the Shenandoah Valley. The region, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, has turned tinder-dry due to an ongoing severe drought. Read More.