A Northern California wildfire burning for more than three weeks roared to life after being stoked by high winds. The deadly fire spread at a ferocious rate across an estimated 25 miles of mountainous terrain and parched foothills. An unspecified number of homes were gutted and thousands of people in communities near Oroville were ordered to evacuate. Three people have been reported dead. As thick smoke choked the air Wednesday and cast an eerie orange hue across much of the region. In Washington, more acres burned in a single day than firefighters usually see all year. Fires also forced people to flee homes in Oregon and Idaho.