A seventh person died in a northern California wildfire on Saturday as several fast-growing wildfires in the state expanded by more than 25 per cent overnight and continued to spread.
More residents were ordered to evacuate their homes as firefighters endured high temperatures and gusting winds.
The Carr fire, about 162 miles north of Sacramento, killed a power company lineman Saturday, according to a CBS affiliate citing a spokesman for the PG&E Corportation.
The Carr fire, one of the most destructive in California history, had already killed six people, including a great-grandmother and two small children, and a firefighter and bulldozer operator.
Two other fires collectively called the Mendocino Complex burned in Mendocino, Lake and Colusa counties, about 145km north of San Francisco. The River and Ranch fires had grown to cover a total of 201,471 acres (81,500 hectares) by early Saturday, and were considered 34 per cent contained.
This year, California wildfires have burned more land earlier in the “fire season” than usual, said Ken Pimlott, Cal Fire director, during a news conference on Saturday.
“Fire season is really just beginning. What seems like we should be in the peak of fire season, historically, is really now the kind of conditions we’re seeing really at the beginning,” said Pimlott.
California Governor Jerry Brown, who visited some of the burned areas on Saturday, said, “This is part of a trend, the new normal, that we’ve got to deal with.”
Through last week, California fires had torched about 290,000 acres (117,300 hectares), more than double the five-year average over that same period, according to Cal Fire.
The Mendocino Complex fires cover more than two-thirds the size of sprawling Los Angeles. They have forced the evacuation of more than 20,000 residents and destroyed more than 100 structures.
More evacuations were ordered on Saturday afternoon, but no estimate of people involved was released.
The Mendocino Complex fires have swelled to become larger than the deadly Carr Fire, about 160 km to the northeast, which has killed at least six people and destroyed more than 1,500 structures.
Firefighters by Saturday morning had managed to contain 41 percent of the Carr blaze and authorities were allowing some evacuees to return, Cal Fire said.
Both areas remained under a “red flag warning” issued by the National Weather Service for strong winds, low relative humidity and temperatures topping 32 degrees, all conditions that can drive the growth of wildfires. – Reuters