Thousands evacuated in California and Washington fires

Los Angeles: Heavy smoke and thick fog hampered efforts on Friday to control a raging fire threatening the northern California town of Paradise, where more than 10,000 people remain out of their homes, officials said.

"The fire is like a sleeping giant. There is no estimate for its containment," said Yvette Streeter, town spokeswoman.

"It is a wind-driven fire and it is very dangerous for firefighters because of the steep terrain," Streeter said.

The blaze near Paradise, north of Sacramento, is one of 300 wildfires still burning across California after lightning storms swept across the state last month.

In the Butte County area surrounding Paradise, fires have destroyed 50 homes and blackened 48,000 acres.

Another 3,800 homes in Butte County are threatened. Some 10,000 people in Paradise were ordered evacuated on Wednesday.

About 20,000 firefighters were battling blazes in California that have so far burned 753,000 acres, US officials told a conference call organized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

More than 130 firefighters from Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand were already in California or on their way, joining in the fight under mutual aid agreements among the countries, the officials said.

In Washington state, a wildfire near Spokane forced 200 people out of their homes and destroyed 13 houses, fire officials said on Friday.

The fire started late Thursday and spread to 1,200 acres before officials declared mandatory evacuations in the heavily wooded part of Spokane Valley, an urban outgrowth of Spokane. No injuries have been reported.