(TNS) - An “unprecedented disaster” is unfolding in Fresno County, officials said Monday night, as the 3-day-old Creek Fire grew to more than 135,500 acres.

Containment remained stuck at 0%, a combined gathering of local, state and federal officials said during a news conference at Sierra High School in Tollhouse, where a grim though still general assessment of heavy structural damage was reported.

Dozens of homes and other buildings appear to have been destroyed.

Separately, one death was confirmed, Fresno Fire Battalion Chief Tony Escobedo said later Monday night. But a subsequent report by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said it had no connection to the Creek Fire.

There was no doubt, however, that firefighters were dealing with a dangerous wildfire.

Sierra National Forest spokesman Dean Gould named several former large fires in the region — including the Aspen, French, Rough, Railroad and Ferguson — before saying the Creek Fire is perhaps the most aggressive of any of those, “in a class by itself.”

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