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California firefighters battle blazes as three wildfires combine

The fire had destroyed or damaged 10 homes, burned 1,086 acres and was 30 percent contained.

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Damage assessment teams have counted 888 homes burned in Lake County, many of them in the town of Middletown, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said.

The fire, which killed at least three people and charred 118 square miles was 69 per cent contained.

The Butte Fire, another wildfire that happened at a nearby location, has burned down 511 homes and destroyed over 330 outbuildings over ten days.

The fires have not only ruined thousands of homes, they are also responsible for killing at least five people, including possibly a man whose body was found in the remains of a wildfire that occurred Sunday in Monterey County. The center’s Facebook page said fire crews had been working in the area since dawn Sunday and that everyone there was safe.

The damage assessments gave long-awaited answers to some of the thousands of displaced residents wondering whether they would have homes to return to.

According to police reports in California, the Valley fire is spreading, with 162 more homes now burnt down in what is being describes as the state’s fourth worst-ever fire.

Elsewhere, more volunteers carefully sorted donated clothing into cardboard crates – not to hand out on the spot, but to send to new pickup points in Lake County, closer to evacuees’ homes.

The American West has seen one of its worst fire seasons this year, burning through a particularly large area of the landscape, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Despite managing to be contained, the fire squad have admitted that 6,563 residential buildings are still at risk as the fire continues to burn. While all evacuation orders had been lifted Saturday, some residents returned to find nothing.

The fire burning about 2 miles north of the community of Jamesburg in Monterey County, rapidly reached 1,200-acres after starting Saturday, September 19, 2015 afternoon, the department further said.

The Valley Fire’s chaotic spread forced firefighters to make quick decisions about which homes and neighborhoods were defensible, said Capt. Tony McHale, a Cal Fire spokesman. “My parent’s house, right below me, it burned down”.

Tassajara Road north of the fire perimeter to Carmel Valley Road.

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Round said the fire moved minimally overnight, with containment looking promising as 4,383 firefighters continued their efforts to control the blaze.

A helicopter makes a water drop on a wildfire hot spot Sunday in Carmel Valley Calif. The blaze burning north of the community of Jamesburg quickly grew after starting Saturday afternoon the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said