A forest fire in California destroyed 500 homes

The natural fire of Carr Fire in Shasta County in the north of the US state of California destroyed 500 and damaged 75 houses, according to the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

According to the department, at present the fire area is more than 48 thousand acres (19.5 thousand hectares), with only 5% localized.

Earlier, it was reported about two deaths as a result of a natural fire on the border of the American states of California and Oregon. In three counties of the state declared the regime of emergency, reported the evacuation of 12 thousand residents.

Firefighters work in a reinforced mode to contain the spread of fire. In total, more than three thousand people are employed, 328 firefighters and 17 helicopters. In the area of ​​fire, roads are blocked, in the surrounding settlements with tens of thousands of residents, including in some areas of the administrative center of Redding county, mandatory evacuation is declared.

According to the National Meteorological Service of Sacramento, satellite imagery showed that the smoke trail from the fire rises to a height of more than nine kilometers.