5 missing in US forest fire; blaze torment Greece

US authorities said on Saturday they were searching for five people missing as a huge wildfire raged in northern California, leaving two towns in cinders. The Dixie Fire, the largest active wildfire in the US, recently became the third largest in California history.

As of Saturday, it had destroyed 447,723 acres in four counties, up from the previous day’s 434,813 and surpassing the vast Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon. Dixie is now 21% contained, the Calfire website reported, adding that three firefighters had so far been injured fighting the blaze.

While the fire continued to grow, officials said on Saturday that cooler, calmer weather was giving firefighters a muchneeded break. Those conditions are expected to continue into Sunday.

“We expect the same fire behaviour as yesterday, which was fairly moderate,” Jake Cagle, a firefighter sections chief, in a briefing.

Earlier, the Dixie Fire lef Gold Rush town of Green charred and in ruins, while burning through the small t of Canyondam. The Plu county sheriff’s office said it received descriptions of five ple considered missing in Gr ville and was searching for t

Greek firefighters bat massive forest fires

Hundreds of fighters in Greece, backe planes, helicopters and r forcements from other c tries, battled massive wild that continued burning on day, fuelled by bone-dry co tions after the country’s w heat wave in decades.

Authorities dedicated most resources to tackling major blazes: one, on Gree second-largest island of E that has burned for five d cutting across the island f coast to coast and isolatin northern part; and three in southern Peloponnese regi