Wildfires raging in four West Coast states have forced more than 1,000 people to be evacuated from their homes this week in rapidly growing blazes. The fires, spread by wind and exacerbated by very dry conditions, have already consumed more than 100 structures in Alaska, and were threatening others in drought-hit California and Arizona.
In a national forest outside Los Angeles, some 500 firefighters backed by air tankers and bulldozers were battling the Lake Fire, which was raging across some 7,500 acres (3,000 hectares) and was just 5 per cent contained, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.
In Alaska, crews of up to nearly 500 firefighters have been battling two massive fires all week that have destroyed more than 100 structures, forced nearly 1,000 people from their homes and restricted traffic on a major highway.
