A wildfire that has devastated more than 15,500 hectares (38,270 acres) in Southern California’s Santa Clarita Valley is 40 percent under control, authorities in Los Angeles County said.
Nearly 3,000 firefighters are battling the blaze that broke out last Friday in Santa Clarita, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of downtown Los Angeles.
By Wednesday the flames had destroyed 18 buildings and left one person dead.
Experts said the fire spread swiftly because of a combination of extreme high temperatures, low humidity, and the drought that has been affecting California for several years.
Another blaze that erupted last Friday in the Big Sur region of California’s Central Coast is only 10 percent controlled, according to officials said.
That fire has claimed that life of a firefighter while devastating more than 9,500 hectares (23,455 acres) and destroying a score of buildings.