Big California wildfires burn on as death toll reaches seven

Firefighters battling three massive wildfires in Northern California got a break from the weather today as humidity rose and there was no return of the onslaught of lightning strikes that ignited the infernos a week earlier.

A warning about dry lighting and gusty winds that could spark more fires was lifted for the San Francisco Bay Area and relieved fire commanders said the weather was aiding their efforts.

"Mother Nature's helped us quite a bit," said Billy See, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection incident commander for a complex of fires burning south of San Francisco.

California has had more than 13,000 lightning strikes since mid-August and more than 600 wildfires statewide have burned more than 4855 sq km, said Daniel Berlant, assistant deputy director with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.

More than 1200 buildings have been destroyed and 14,000 firefighters have been deployed, he said.

The three big fires around the Bay Area and many others burning across the state have put nearly 250,000 people under evacuation orders and warnings and authorities renewed warnings for anxious homeowners to stay away from the evacuation zones.

Six people who returned to a restricted area south of San Francisco to check on their properties were surprised by fire and had to be rescued, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said.

Thousands of firefighters are struggling to contain wildfires in California, which have killed seven people, scorched nearly 1.3 million acres, and forced thousands to flee their homes. pic.twitter.com/PzHpCB49iL

— DW News (@dwnews) August 24, 2020

The death toll from the fires reached seven over the weekend after authorities battling a big fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco announced the discovery of the body of a 70-year-old man in a remote area called Last Chance.

He had been reported missing and police had to use a helicopter to reach the area of about 40 off-the-grid homes at the end of a windy, steep dirt road north of the city of Santa Cruz.

The area was under an evacuation order and Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Chris Clark said the discovery of the man's body was a reminder of how important it was for residents to evacuate from fire danger zones.

"This is one of the darkest periods we've been in with this fire," he said.

The Santa Cruz fire is one of three "complexes," or groups of fires, burning on all sides of the San Francisco Bay Area. All were started by lightning.

- AP