CALIFORNIA, Aug 12: Six new large wildfires have sparked and erupted in the United States, bringing the number of current active wildfires to more than 100.
Even more are expected to break out over the weekend due to lightning strikes on bone-dry terrain, authorities told Reuters on the weekend.
Death toll from California wildfire rises to 48: Sheriff of But...
More than 30,000 personnel, including firefighters from across the United States and nearly 140 from Australia and New Zealand, were battling the blazes that have consumed more than 648,000 hectares, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center.
Lead forecaster from National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, Jeremy Grams, told Reuters there are more fire-starts expected.
"Dry thunderstorms, which produce lightning but little rain, are expected for parts of the Rocky Mountain region, while the US northwest has critical fire weather conditions that include strong winds and low relative humidity."
The fires have scorched states from Washington to New Mexico, with California among the hardest hit.
A mechanic helping to fight the Carr Fire in northern California was killed in a car crash on Thursday - the eighth person to die in that conflagration.
The 73,250-hectare Carr Fire has destroyed nearly 1100 homes.
About 160km southwest of the Carr Fire, approximately 3500 fire fighters are battling the Mendocino Complex Fire, which has burned 131,614 hectares as of Saturday and was the largest fire on record in California.
