Fire crews in Sheep Ranch, Calif., battle flames Saturday night. Fast moving wildfires were devastating areas of northern California.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — Some 400 homes were among the hundreds of structures destroyed as fast-moving wildfires raged through communities in northern California, leaving at least one person dead and sending residents fleeing along roads where some buildings and vehicles were still in flames.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection confirmed Sunday one fatality in the wildfire north of San Francisco that raced through dry brush and exploded in size within hours. In addition to the homes, officials also counted two apartment complexes and 10 businesses destroyed by the flames, department spokesman Lynn Valentine said.

Valentine couldn’t provide details on the circumstances of the death.

In addition, up to 1,000 structures such as barns, sheds and other outbuildings were burned. The devastation comes after a separate wildfire to the southeast destroyed at least 81 homes.

Residents fled from Middletown, dodging smoldering telephone poles, downed power lines and fallen trees as they drove through billowing smoke.

Whole blocks of houses were burned in parts of the town of more than 1,000 residents that lies about 20 miles north of the famed Napa Valley. On the west side of town, house after house was burned to their foundations, with only charred appliances and twisted metal garage doors still recognizable.

Wind gusts up to 30 mph sent embers raining down on homes and made it hard for firefighters to stop the blaze from advancing.

The fire continued to burn in all directions, triggering the evacuation of a stretch along Highway 281, including Clear Lake Riviera, a town of about 3,000 residents. It was threatening communications infrastructure and a power plant.