The death toll in the wildfires raging through California has risen to 25, according to officials.
This comes after 14 more bodies were discovered in or near the decimated town of Paradise in the state’s north, bringing the number of confirmed dead there to 23. Two more people were killed in the south, near Malibu.
An estimated 250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes to avoid three major blazes in the state. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has drawn anger by saying that poor forestry management is to blame for the fires.
The blaze known as the Camp Fire started spreading through Butte County on Thursday, and firefighters were powerless to stop it destroying the town of Paradise.
Another fire swept into the affluent southern beach resort of Malibu on Friday and has now doubled in size.
Known as the Woolsey, it had burned more than 83,000 acres (33,500 hectares) by late Saturday.
Among the towns under evacuation orders is Thousand Oaks, where a gunman killed 12 people in a rampage on Wednesday.
Meteorologists have warned that dangerous conditions may continue well into next week, as hot dry “devil winds” blow through the Los Angeles area.
“This is getting bad,” said Marc Chenard of the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. “It’s nothing but bad news.” (BBC)
