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Image: US-ENVIRONMENT-FIRE

In Focus

Firefighters battle record-breaking wildfires across California

Firefighters are battling to contain the Holy Fire that has already prompted evacuation orders for more than 20,000 people south of Los Angeles.

/ 42 PHOTOS
Image: Holy Fire

Smoke from the Holy Fire burning in Cleveland National Forest seem above an industrial storage facility in Corona, California, is blurred in a long exposure on Aug. 10, 2018.

A local man has been arrested on charges deliberately setting the wildfire that has prompted an evacuation order for 20,000 people in Orange and Riverside counties 

— Mario Tama / Getty Images
Image: Holy Fire

Fire crews line up as they watch a wildfire on a ridge top while protecting a residential area in Lake Elsinore.

— Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Image: Holy Fire

A vehicle and driveway are covered in fire retardant after it was sprayed from a firefighting aircraft in Lake Elsinore.

— Mario Tama / Getty Images
Image: Carr Fire

Emily Scott stands near the ruins of her house burned in the Carr Fire in Shasta, California.

— John Locher / AP
Image: Carr Fire

A flag flies at half staff amid the rubble of homes burned in the Carr Fire, in Redding, California.

— John Locher / AP
Image: Holy Fire

A family sits along the shore of Lake Elsinore as they watch the Holy Fire burn in the distance on, Aug. 9, 2018.

— Patrick Record / AP
Image: Carr fire

View of damage caused by wildfires near Redding, California.

— City of Redding / AFP - Getty Images
Image: Carr Fire

Loretta Root wipes her eyes while visiting the remains of her home in the Keswick area, which was burned in the Carr Fire in Redding.

— John Locher / AP
Image: Holy Fire

A firefighter consoles a man who is worried that his sister's house will burn during the Holy Fire in Corona, California.

— David McNew / EPA
Image: Holy Fire

A plane drops fire retardant behind homes along McVicker Canyon Park Road in Lake Elsinore, California, on Aug. 8, 2018.

— Mark Rightmire / The Orange County Register via AP
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A tree burns from the inside as the Ranch Fire burns in Clearlake Oaks, California, on Aug. 5, 2018.

The Mendocino Complex blaze — a conglomerate of the River and Ranch fires burning in Northern California  — became the state’s largest on record on Monday, scorching more than 290,000 acres, officials said.

— Josh Edelson / AP
Image: US-ENVIRONMENT-FIRE

Embers smolder along a hillside after the Ranch Fire burned though the area near Clearlake Oaks.

The Mendocino Complex fire has destroyed dozens of homes and other buildings, and more than 11,000 structures remain threatened.

— Noah Berger / AFP - Getty Images
Image: US-ENVIRONMENT-FIRE

Flames leap above a vehicle near Clearlake Oaks.

— Noah Berger / AFP - Getty Images
Image: US-ENVIRONMENT-FIRE

An air tanker drops retardant near Clearlake Oaks.

— Noah Berger / AFP - Getty Images
Image: US-ENVIRONMENT-FIRE

Firefighter Joe Smith retrieves supplies while battling the Ranch Fire near Clearlake Oaks. 

Nearly 4,000 fire personnel, including 441 firefighters, were battling the Mendocino Complex blaze. 

— Noah Berger / AFP - Getty Images
Image: US-ENVIRONMENT-FIRE

A residence on New Long Valley Road burns near Clearlake Oaks.

— Noah Berger / AFP - Getty Images
Image: TOPSHOT-US-ENVIRONMENT-FIRE

Alex Schenck moves flaming pallets while fighting to save his home near Clearlake Oaks on Aug. 4.

— Noah Berger / AFP - Getty Images
Image: US-ENVIRONMENT-FIRE

Alex Schenck carries a water bucket while fighting to save his home near Clearlake Oaks. The home survived the blaze.

— Noah Berger / AFP - Getty Images
California wildfires

German astronaut Alexander Gerst captured this view of the California wildfires from the International Space Station on Aug. 3, tweeting "Frightening to watch, even from space."

More than 13,000 firefighters are battling blazes statewide with the help of crews from as far away as Florida.

 

— Alexander Gerst / ESA
Image: TOPSHOT-US-FIRE-CALIFORNIA

Firefighters conduct a controlled burn to defend houses against flames from the Ranch fire as it continued to spread towards the town of Upper Lake on Aug. 2. 

— Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images
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A resident is comforted after seeing her fire-ravaged home for the first time on Aug. 2 in Redding. 

Seven people have died in the Carr Fire.

— Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Image: Jim Daniel sleeps on a cot with his dog in the shade after being evacuated from Ranch Fire and River Fire to the Moose Lodge in Clearlake Oaks, California

Jim Daniel sleeps on a cot with his dog in the shade after being evacuated from the Mendocino Complex of fires to a makeshift evacuation center in the parking lot of the Moose Lodge in Clearlake Oaks.

— Fred Greaves / Reuters
Image: Mendocino-Complex Fire Scorches 70,000 Acres In Northern California

Chickens stand near a burning home as the River Fire moves through the area in Lakeport on July 31.

— Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Image: TOPSHOT-US-CALIFORNIA-FIRE

Firefighters try to control a back burn as the Carr Fire continued to spread near Redding.

The Carr Fire is believed to have started as a result of the mechanical failure of a vehicle, Cal Fire said. 

— Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images
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An air tanker drops fire retardant on the River Fire near Lakeport on July 30. 

— Noah Berger / AP
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A firefighter walks through smoke from the Mendocino Complex of fires.

— Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty Images
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A vintage vehicle lies between trees burned by the Cranston Fire near Mountain Center on July 29.

— Mike Nelson / EPA
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A dead horse is tangled up in a fence after being caught in the Cranston Fire in Mountain Center.

— Mike Nelson / EPA
Image: Carla Bledsoe, Sherry Bledsoe

Carla Bledsoe, facing camera, hugs her sister Sherry outside of the sheriff's office on July 28 after hearing the news that Sherry's children, James and Emily, and grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, were killed in a wildfire in Redding.

— Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Image: The sun sets over hills burned by the Carr Fire west of Redding

The sun sets over hills burned by the Carr Fire west of Redding. 

 

— Bob Strong / Reuters
Image: TOPSHOT-US-WILDFIRES

A fire truck battling the Carr Fire drives along Highway 299 near Whiskeytown, California.
— Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty Images
Image: Homes leveled in the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding

Homes leveled in the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding.
— Noah Berger / AP
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A deer grazes along a road covered in fire retardant near Redding.
— Noah Berger / AP
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Flames tower above firefighters battling the Carr Fire near Whiskeytown on July 27.

— Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty Images
A large pyrocumulus cloud (or cloud of fire) explodes outward during the Carr fire near Redding, California on July 27, 2018. Two firefighters have died and more than 100 homes have burned as wind-whipped flames tore through the region.

A large pyrocumulus cloud (or cloud of fire) explodes outward during the Carr Fire.

— Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty Images
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Children of the Brilz family look at the remains of their home in Redding.

— Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty Images
Image: Major Wildfire Spreads To 28,000 Acres, Threatens Redding, CA

A firefighter sprays water on a home in Redding.

— Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Image: Major Wildfire Spreads To 28,000 Acres, Threatens Redding, CA

A home burns along Sunflower Road in Redding.

— Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
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A historic schoolhouse burns as the Carr Fire tears through Shasta on July 26.

 

— Noah Berger / AP
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A structure burns along Highway 299 near Redding.

— Noah Berger / AP
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A water tender operator after trying to save a home in Shasta.

— Noah Berger / AP
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A firefighter lights backfires in Redding.

Read: Mendocino Complex fire is largest wildfire in California history

 

— Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty Images
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