5 yıl önce

In pictures: Paradise lost as fire consumes California town

Nine people were found dead in and around the northern California town of Paradise, where more than 6,700 homes and businesses were burned down by the 90,000-acre Camp Fire, the state's most destructive on record, authorities say.

AP

Flames consume a fast food restaurant as the Camp Fire tears through Paradise, California.

Firefighters in California on Saturday battled raging blazes at both ends of the state that have left at least nine people dead and thousands of homes destroyed –– but there was little hope of containing the flames anytime soon.

More than 250,000 people have been ordered to evacuate a wide area near the state capital Sacramento and, in southern California, the Hollywood resort town of Malibu.

So far, all nine fatalities were reported in the town of Paradise, in Butte County, where more than 6,700 buildings –– most of them residences –– have been consumed by the late-season inferno, which is now California's most destructive fire on record.

The fast-moving blaze, which authorities have named the "Camp Fire", broke out Thursday morning. Fanned by strong winds, it has scorched 90,000 acres and is only five percent contained, the California Fire Department (Cal Fire) said.