Man arrested for causing wildfire in N. California

CALIFORNIA: Fire officials have arrested a 29-year- old man they accused of causing a fast-moving wildfire that has destroyed 10 homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,500 residents in Northern California, they said on Wednesday.

John Ballenger of the town of Oroville is accused of ‘recklessly’ starting a campfire outside a designated area and allowing it to spread out of control, Cal Fire Butte County Chief Darren Read said in a statement. Oroville is about 110km north of Sacramento.

Ballenger will be arraigned in a Butte County court on Friday, officials said. No further information was disclosed.

Less than 24 hours after it began on Tuesday afternoon, the so- called Ponderosa Fire had consumed about 1,275 hectares in Butte County, about 135km north of Sacramento, the Cal Fire website showed. Besides homes, the fire has destroyed 20 outbuildings.

Another 15 buildings have been damaged by the flames and 1,300 more are threatened, Cal Fire said.

Photographs on social media showed the fire reducing houses to ash as smoke billowed into the sky and flames ripped through trees and vegetation.

“My grandparents’ house is gone,” said on Twitter user.

“Everything on their road burned and it feels like losing my grandma all over again.”

About 1,500 people have been ordered to evacuate the remote area. Two shelters were opened for displaced residents, county officials said.

Northern California faces a heat wave over the next few days with temperatures expected to top 40 degrees Celsius, the National Weather Service said. — Reuters