Dozen big bushfires rage across drought

Los Angeles: Up to 6000 firefighters are battling a wave of bushfires raging across California, which is gripped by one of the state's worst droughts and near-record temperatures.

Thousands of residents have been evacuated and buildings ravaged in at least one of the fires in northern California, while southern California has been hit by power blackouts as people turn their airconditioning up to full.

There are 12 major fires across the vast western US state, including near the town of Weed, where flames damaged or destroyed more than 100 buildings including the local church.

'Since last year, there are [many] more fires because of the drought,' CalFire spokeswoman Alyssa Smith said, adding that there have been 200 more fires this year compared with the same time last year.

On Sunday, about 1000 people were evacuated near Yosemite National Park in central California. The blaze that began near Bass Lake burnt 133 hectares in a matter of hours.

California, baking in temperatures of nearly 40 degrees, is in the third year of its worst drought for decades, devastating its largely agricultural Central Valley in particular.

In southern California, near-record temperatures for a sixth straight day led to a surge in electricity use, triggering outages which left some 7000 people without power.

California often faces fierce fires in the summer and autumn. However, bushfire season began early this year, with the extreme drought of recent months generating dozens more blazes.

Agence France-Presse

- AAP