Wildfire torches hillside homes in southern California
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Firefighters monitoring the Park Fire near Mill Creek, California, on Aug 6.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CALIFORNIA - A wind-driven wildfire on a hillside above the southern California city of San Bernardino burned several homes and forced evacuations before it was brought under control on Aug 6, firefighters reported.
Video from local TV station KTLA 5 showed at least five residences had burned after the fast-moving brush fire jumped into up-market homes overlooking the city of 220,000, located around 88km east of Los Angeles.
The fire began on Aug 5 and burned 40 ha before it was largely contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
Warmer-than-usual temperatures and abundant vegetation after a wet winter and spring have led to ideal burning conditions in the most populous US state. Climate change has led to more severe and longer heatwaves, according to experts.
Another fire, in the forested mountains north of Sacramento, has grown into California’s fourth-largest on record
The blaze known as the Park fire took off on Aug 5, burning through more than 4,800 ha and prompting more evacuations in the Mill Creek area, Cal Fire reported.
Tinder-dry forests, high temperatures and steep canyons have made it difficult to fight the blaze, which has destroyed around 640 homes and other structures.
The fire had torched about 167,000 ha as at the morning of Aug 6 and was 34 per cent contained. REUTERS
