After days of firefighting efforts in california, the gross brush fire in the u.S. West coast state is nearly two-thirds contained. The so-called kincade fire north of san francisco in sonoma county has destroyed 141 homes since last week, authorities announced thursday.
Nearly 5800 people still not allowed to return to their homes. At times, 180,000.000 residents had to leave the threatened areas. The flames spread over a flat area of more than 310 square kilometers. But there were no fatalities.
With winds easing, response teams near los angeles also made progress in clearing several fire fronts. But with continued drought and warm weather, the fire danger in southern california remains very high.
In the san bernardino area, east of los angeles, about 500 firefighters battled flames that broke out overnight on thursday. At least six houses burned down. The cause of the fire was not known. A red alert is still in effect for the los angeles region.
After days of power outages, more than 36,000 people were still out of work in northern california on thursday.000 households in the dark. The precautionary blackouts had temporarily affected nearly one million homes and businesses.
In strong winds, there is a danger that power poles will topple or that cinders will rub off cables, causing fires to break out. The forest fire in the northern california town of paradise that killed 85 people in november last year is believed to have been caused by faulty power lines.