Southern California wildfire rages unchecked after evacuations

Los Angeles: Hundreds of firefighters were battling a wildfire raging out of control in drought-stricken Southern California on Wednesday after flames forced more than 80,000 residents to flee and charred more than 30,000 acres (12,140 hectares) of heavy brush, officials said.
The Bluecut Fire, which erupted on Tuesday morning north of the city of San Bernardino in an area called the Cajon Pass, was zero per cent contained and has destroyed an unknown number of structures, fire officials said.
Authorities on Tuesday issued evacuation orders for some 34,500 homes near Interstate 15, the main freeway between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area, a stretch of which was closed indefinitely.
Smoke from the fire could be seen and smelled as far away as Las Vegas, more than 200 miles (321 km) northeast, fire officials in the area said early on Wednesday.
Six firefighters were trapped for a time by flames in the effort to evacuate residents and defend homes, but managed to escape after two of the firefighters suffered minor injuries, federal and local officials said in a statement.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. About 600 miles (970 km) to the northwest, crews made headway against a Northern California wildfire that has destroyed more than 175 homes and businesses. The so-called Clayton Fire was 40 per cent contained on Wednesday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It has charred 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares) in and around the community of Lower Lake since Saturday evening, forcing hundreds to flee.
Damin Pashilk, a 40-year-old arrested on suspicion of setting that blaze, and several others in the area over the past year, is set to appear in court on Wednesday.
California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County for the Bluecut Fire, which allows state agencies to come to the assistance of local officials. He had issued emergency declarations on Monday for the Clayton Fire and another in Central California, the Chimney Fire.