Firefighter killed battling blaze:

friend. Prosecutors say the conservative Muslim became enraged when his daughter left home to marry a Christian and convert to Christianity, so he orchestrated the killings. The daughter’s friend, Gelareh Bagherzadeh, died in January 2012. And the son-in-law, Coty Beavers, died in November 2012.

Irsan testified that his daughter aggrieved his family after eloping with Beavers, and that Bagherzadeh had encouraged the union. (AP)

A firefighter has been killed battling the largest wildfire in Californian history that has been stoked by prime fire weather conditions as it has destroyed dozens of homes.

The unidentified firefighter was killed on Monday while battling the Ranch Fire, one of two blazes that make up the Mendocino Complex, which has already charred about 349,000 acres (141,200 hectares), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

The Utah firefighter was airlifted to a hospital where he died, fire officials said during a news conference late on Monday.

“We are extremely heartbroken for this loss,” Mendocino Complex incident commander Sean Kavanaugh said, adding that officials will release more information as it becomes available.

The firefighter was the sixth person killed battling California’s intense wildfires this year, which have been some of the most destructive in more than a decade as they have forced tens of thousands to evacuate.

The Mendocino Complex, which has destroyed 146 homes since it began on July 27, has been stoked by persistent hot, dry and windy conditions. Crews have been able to cut containment lines around 68 percent of the northern California fire, Cal Fire said. (RTRS)