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At least 300 homes threatened in California wildfire

Sunday, 19 April 2015 2:07 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 19 April 2015 2:07 PM ]

A huge wildfire in the western state of California threatens at least 300 homes.

An out-of-control wildfire has threatened to destroy at least 300 homes in the southern drought-stricken region of California.

State fire officials said that 335 firefighters are at work to control what they dubbed the “Highway Fire” just east of Los Angeles on Sunday.

"The fire is fueled by thick brush in a riverbed that hasn't burnt in years and it is creating its own weather, so firefighters are having difficulty getting in there," Captain Mike Mohler of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

He said emergency authorities have already evacuated many residents whose homes are on the path of the wildfire that has so far burned 300 acres of land.

A mandatory evacuation was ordered for about 300 homes so far, but authorities have not ruled out more mandatory evacuations.

The fire quickly grew from covering an area of 30 acres to 175 late Saturday night and then almost doubled to 300 acres in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Pat Murphy, a resident in the area who risks her home being burned down, explained to local media that "I'm actually quite scared right now for my family and don't know what to do -- if I need to get back and start planning evacuations or what.”

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

California is facing a three-year-long drought that has “nearly depleted” the state’s topsoil moisture reserves and increased the threat of raging wildfires across the state.

HDS/AGB

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