California fires devastate over 100,000 hectares

Los Angeles, Aug 1 California firefighters and emergency services continued trying to contain about a dozen fires still active in the state which have devastated over 100,000 hectares, according to official data.

At least eight people have died in the fires, which swept through California due to its hot and dry climate.

State authorities on Tuesday said that they were mainly concerned about the Carr fire, which destroyed more than 45,600 hectares (112,888 acres) and was 30 per cent contained, according to the latest report from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Efe news reported.

The fire, which gutted 1,236 buildings, broke out on July 23 near the city of Redding, with a population of about 92,000, and still remains active in Shasta and Trinity counties north of San Francisco.

About 10,000 out of 38,000 people who were evacuated from the area as a precautionary measure were able to return to their homes.

Meanwhile, several parts of Yosemite National Park, one of the country's most popular nature reserves, remained closed due to the Ferguson fire, raging in Mariposa County for 19 days and destroying some 23,400 hectares of the area.

In Mendocino county, authorities managed to contain about 12 and 10 per cent of the River and Ranch fires, respectively. The two fires razed over 32,500 hectares of the area.