US: California fires force 100,000 to evacuate

More than 100,000 people were placed under mandatory evacuation as two wildfires ripped through southern California in the US.

Orange County fire authority, OCFA PIO, said Tuesday the Silverado and Blue Ridge have fires burned 11,199 and 8,000 acres, respectively, while containment percentages remain under five.

However, no significant fire-related structure losses have been reported, only one home was damaged in Yorba Linda.

The Silverado Fire that began Monday is threatening Irvine that has nearly 280,000 residents.

More than 90,000 residents in Irvine and at least 10,000 in the Yorba Linda area have been under evacuation orders since Monday.

Meanwhile, two firefighters were critically injured battling the Silverado Fire, suffering second-degree and third-degree burns.

Although investigations continue to find the cause of new fires, electricity supply company Southern California Edison on Monday filed a wildfire incident report with state regulators, saying its equipment might have caused the Silverado Fire.

More than 8,800 fires were reported in 2020 by Cal Fire and the US Forest Service with more than 4 million acres burned.