California scorched by wildfires the size of LA

MENDOCINO: Thousands of firefighters battled relentless flames ripping across California, as the death toll from a series of infernos that erupted last month hit 11.

The raging Mendocino Complex fire comprising twin blazes in the state’s north has now ravaged almost 120,000ha – approximately the size of sprawling Los Angeles – in less than two weeks, becoming California’s largest wildfire since recordkeeping began a century ago.

Some 14,000 firefighters, including reinforcements from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, are combating the firestorm, which remains just 34% contained.

The River Fire of the Mendocino Complex is 78% contained, having burned19,797ha. But its partner blaze the Ranch Fire has grown to 98,651ha and is just 20% contained.

“Still a lot of work to do,” said Charlie Blankenheim, chief of fire fighting operations.

“But we have got a plan for all of it. We think that in a day or two we are going to have some success and start to wrap this up.”

Limited access, heavy fuel loads, low fuel moisture and high temperatures were impeding firefighters’ efforts to rein in the conflagration, the state’s CalFire authority said.

Overall, the Mendocino Complex fire has destroyed at least 143 structures, 75 of them residences. More than 11,000 other structures are threatened, according to CalFire.

The Ranch fire, which poses the biggest challenge, has swept across natural barriers like rivers, and a ditch dug with earth-moving machinery. Helicopters and airplanes were supporting firefighters by dousing the flames with water.

Two people have died in that inferno alone, taking to 11 the number of people killed by major fires that are becoming something of a constant in the state.

Meanwhile, the Carr Fire to the north has engulfed 67,628ha since igniting on July 23, killing seven people so far.

Firefighters have managed to get it 47% contained, challenged by varying wind patterns and rough terrain that includes steep drainages. At one point, it even whipped up a tornado of orange flame.

Another major fire, Ferguson, has left two people dead and forced the part of the Yosemite National Park to close. It is only 38% contained.

Several thousand people have been evacuated, although some have been given permission in recent days to return home.

The weather forecast for the rest of the week is for more hot, dry weather of the kind that helps fires spread.

The Mendocino Complex is the second fire to break records in California in as many years, following the Thomas Fire last December that destroyed 114,078ha.

— AFP Still intact: A Buddha statue is seen outside a burned home in Spring Valley near Clearlake Oaks, northern California.

— AFP The new norm: California residents Gretchen Fritsch and Jay Michael resting in their car during the Ranch Fire in a parking lot in Clearlake Oaks. It is the eighth time they have been evacuated since living in the area and the third time this year.