Redding, Calif. • The number of people ordered to flee from two Northern California wildfires swelled Monday to 15,000 as the flames rolled toward several small lake towns, and firefighters were hopeful that the state’s largest and deadliest blaze of the year was slowing down after days of explosive growth. The twin fires in Mendocino and Lake counties flared up late Sunday, forcing the new evacuations from the 4,700-resident town of Lakeport and other communities near Clear Lake, about 120 miles north of San Francisco. The blazes have destroyed six homes and threaten 10,000 others. So far, the flames have blackened 87 square miles, with minimal containment. Those fires were among 17 burning across the state, where fire crews were stretched to the limit. At midday Monday, Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Corey Paulich put the number of people under evacuation orders at 14,000, up from a previous estimate of 10,000. Another 1,000 people have been displaced in neighboring Mendocino Coun
