California wildfires toll reach 8

IANS  |  San Francisco 

The toll in the 17 wildfires that were currently blazing in has increased to eight, according to authorities.

That fire has forced authorities to evacuate more than 38,000 people and has destroyed 723 residential structures but is only 20 per cent contained at present, California's forestry and forest fire prevention department, CalFire, told news.

also said that seven people are missing in the Carr fire.

said the fires are "explosive" and the situation is beyond "extreme".

Two other people were found dead near the Ferguson fire, which is 30 per cent contained, one of them a firefighter who died after being hit by a falling tree in County, where his contingent of firefighters were working to quell the blaze.

The said that excessive heat combined with low relative humidity and dry vegetation were setting up ideal conditions for the numerous fires.

Currently, there are 17 active - albeit isolated - wildfires in California, ranging from blazes in the southern part of the state all the way to the northern border with

Some 12,000 firefighters are battling the flames around California, along with 800 members of the National Guard, backed up by hundreds of fire trucks, some of which have come from as far away as

is the site of two other uncontrolled fires that have burned more than 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate.

has declared a state of emergency for Riverside, and Counties and on July 28, signed an emergency declaration for the state, thus enabling the to provide additional aid.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, July 31 2018. 10:02 IST