A California wildfire on Friday consumed homes and forced evacuations after spreading over an area of more than 1,200 hectares, news reports said, according to dpa. The fire damaged about 100 structures, including homes, as it burned through several rural communities in central California, authorities quoted by the local NBC television affiliate in Los Angeles said. The Erskine Fire broke out near Lake Isabella about 240 kilometres north of Los Angeles in Kern County late Thursday afternoon, when the temperature was above 32 degrees centigrade. Efforts to bring the blaze under control are being challenged by low humidity and temperatures expected to climb to above 38 degrees centigrade next week, the Weather Channel said, adding that there is no rain in the forecast. More than 350 firefighters were battling the Erskine fire, which is one of seven burning in the state that have yet to be brought under control, Cal Fire said at its website.
