California wildfires: Man arrested for blaze that destroyed 175 homes
Hot, dry conditions have hampered efforts of 1600 firefighters to bring vast fire under control
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Your support makes all the difference.A man has been arrested in California on arson charges for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed 175 homes and threatens hundreds more.
Police said Damin Pashilk, 40, was arrested on 17 counts of arson and was suspected of numerous fires across Lake County during the past year.
The vast Clayton Fire has been spread by fierce winds and stretched to more than six square miles about 90 miles from San Francisco.
Weather conditions have hampered more than 1600 firefighters trying to put out the blaze. Temperatures are forecast to reach the upper 90s in coming days, with no rain in sight.
A heat wave and gusty winds also put Southern California on high fire alert.
Ken Pimlott, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director, said the blaze in the town of Lower Lake has caused more than $10 million in damages and left dozens of families homeless.
“Mr Pashilk committed a horrific crime and we will seek prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. My thoughts continue to be with the people of Lake County during this difficult time,” said Mr Pimlott.
Wildfires hit Lower Lake for the first time in generations last year when three major blazes blackened towns and mountainous wildland close to the town.
They returned on Sunday when flames fed by pines and oaks wiped out whole blocks.
In places, only brick chimneys marked where homes had once stood. Blackened shells of vehicles stood in roads.
Firefighters couldn't protect all of historic Main Street and flames burned a winery, an antiques store, old firehouse and the Habitat for Humanity office.
The organisation was raising money to help rebuild homes in nearby communities torched last year. Between them, the four blazes have destroyed more than 1,400 of the 36,000 housing units in all Lake County.
On Monday afternoon, Jerry Brown, the Democrat governor of California, declared states of emergency for the Clayton fire and another in San Luis Obispo County, the so-called Chimney fire, allowing local officials to get help from emergency response agencies statewide.
The Chimney fire was just 10 per cent contained by Monday evening. It had scorched more than 5,400 acres (2,185 hectares) within less than 48 hours after erupting on Saturday afternoon, destroying a dozen structures and threatening about 200 more, with hundreds of residents being told to evacuate.
to other Californians who live in areas traditionally associated with wildfires.
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