Man charged with arson as California fires continue to rage

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A man was charged with arson on Thursday over the so-called Holy Fire engulfing Southern California, as wildfires continued to rage through the rest of the US state, claiming more casualties.

Forrest Clark, 51, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of setting the fire and was charged with multiple criminal counts including aggravated arson and making criminal threats, the Orange County District Attorney Office said in a statement on Thursday.

Clark was held on bail of 1 million US dollars and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

More charges could, however, be filed against Clark, as the fire and investigation are continuing, Jeffrey Kirk, a deputy district attorney in Orange County, said in video posted by Los Angeles TV station KTLA.

A plane drops fire retardant around Santiago Peak to protect communication towers from the Holy Fire raging around Corona, California, August 8, 2018. /VCG Photo

The 9,600-acre Holy Fire, in the Cleveland National Forest area of Southern California's Orange County, has displaced 20,000 people, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. It is only five percent contained, officials said.

Meanwhile, in northern California, a mechanic helping to fight the 177,000-acre Carr Fire burning around Redding was killed in a traffic collision on Thursday.

The fire, roughly 200 miles (320 km) north of San Francisco, has killed two other firefighters and three members of one family and has destroyed nearly 1,100 homes.

Fifteen other major fires are burning in California.

Not far from the Carr Fire, the Mendocino Complex – two fires close to each other that are being treated as one event – now ranks as the largest fire on record in the state.

Firefighters monitor a burn operation on top of a ridge near Ladoga, California, August 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

More than 4,000 firefighters have been battling that fire, which has burned more than 304,400 acres in three counties north of San Francisco, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on Thursday.

Fierce winds, bone-dry weather and high temperatures are now threatening efforts to fight the blazes.

Wind gusting up to 56 kilometers per hour, temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius and 10-percent humidity were in the forecast from Thursday afternoon to Saturday in northern California.

"A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior," the National Weather Service said in a Red Flag warning.

So far, about 10 people have been killed in California’s wildfires, according to various reports.

(Top picture: The Holy Fire approaches the McVicker Canyon neighborhood in Lake Elsinore, August 8, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters