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12:30, 07-Jul-2018
State of emergency declared over California fire
Updated
11:38, 10-Jul-2018
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California's Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in San Diego County on Friday due to the fast moving fire in the western US state.
The brush fire has destroyed homes, threatened more homes and caused the evacuation of residents, Brown said in a statement, adding that the fire has forced the closure of roadways and continues to threaten critical infrastructure.
"High temperatures, low humidity, and erratic winds have further increased the spread of this fire," he said.
The blaze, dubbed the West Fire, has burned across an area of 400 acres (around 1.6 square km), said the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The record-breaking heat wave just hit Southern California from the desert to the sea, making high temperature and withering conditions that stoked fire easily.
(Top image: file photo of fire near Clearlake Oaks, California; with input from Xinhua and The Washington Post)
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