Some 400 homes were among the hundreds of structures destroyed as fast-moving wildfires raged through communities in northern California, leaving at least one person dead and sending residents fleeing along roads where some buildings and vehicles were still in flames.

Four US firefighters were hospitalised after being injured fighting a fast- moving wildfire in northern California that expanded yesterday and has forced thousands to evacuate their homes, officials said.

A wildfire forced the evacuation of more than 500 homes and about 1,200 residents in a rural area east of the California state capital Sacramento on Saturday, a day after the blaze broke out, fire officials said.

A wildfire raging on the edge of the Yosemite National Park threatened both one of America’s premier sites of natural beauty and a reservoir that supplies San Francisco.

A huge wildfire near Yosemite National Park in California has continued to threaten San Francisco’s water supply, while firefighters warned it was so hot that it could send sparks into new, untouched areas.

Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed to protect mountain communities in the path of a fire raging north of Yosemite National Park.

A giant wildfire raging out of control in the US has grown to nearly 200 square miles and spread into Yosemite National Park, as California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for the city of San Francisco 150 miles away because of the threat to the city’s utilities.

About 1,500 people have fled and three are injured as a wildfire in the southern California mountains quickly spreads.

Residents have fled from thousands of homes as a wildfire pushed toward southern California mountain communities.

A strong rotten egg smell had Southern Californians plugging their noses and crying foul as air quality experts scrambled to determine if the sulphurous scent was coming from the Salton Sea.

A wildfire that forced 1,500 homes in Southern California to be evacuated spread to nearly two square miles and destroyed two mobile homes today.

A deadly wildfire destroyed dozens of homes as it roared through a tinder-dry Southern California forest, forced thousands of residents to flee and burned dangerously close to a vital mountaintop broadcasting complex.

More fire crews were deployed across California today to gain control of a series of growing wildfires that have forced hundreds of people to flee their homes.

The California wildfire that scorched 13 square miles and destroyed dozens of homes in the hills above Santa Barbara was apparently sparked by a power tool being used to clear brush, investigators said.

A cool sea breeze provided some relief for US firefighters battling a blaze which has destroyed scores of homes in California, but they feared dry inland winds could return to stoke the fire today.

Powerful winds have pushed a raging wildfire to the doorstep of a wealthy US coastal city, threatening to destroy dozens more homes and leading to the evacuation of more than 20,000 people.

Fierce winds blew wildfires into Southern Californian homes today, forcing thousands of people to flee as columns of smoke rose from a scenic coastal enclave.

Firefighters battling wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes in Southern California were today aided by calmer winds.

A Northern California wildfire was 90% contained today after forcing thousands to evacuate, fire officials said.

Southern California is lining up its fire crews and aircraft to get in first if the hot, dry Santa Ana winds expected to return this weekend cause major flare-ups.

Firefighters aided by damp weather made progress against the last of Southern California’s big wildfires, hoping to squash the remaining flames before the possible return of winds this week.

Cloudy skies and occasional raindrops brought a welcome improvement in conditions in southern California, where firefighters were battling wildfires.

Firefighters were battling two raging wildfires in Southern California that forced nearly 2,000 people to evacuate.

The first major US wildfire of the summer raced across more than 5,500 acres of tinder-dry desert brush, destroying at least seven homes, threatening hundreds of others and sending residents of Morongo Valley fleeing for their lives.

A 9,300-acre wildfire burned out of control in central California’s wine country today, as another blaze in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada destroyed 11 homes.