'Camp Fire' kills at least 9

Firefighters in California yesterday battled raging blazes at both ends of the state that have left at least nine people dead and thousands of homes destroyed -- but there was little hope of containing the flames anytime soon.

More than 250,000 people have been ordered to evacuate a wide area near the state capital Sacramento and, in southern California, the Hollywood resort town of Malibu.

So far, all nine fatalities were reported in the town of Paradise, in Butte County, where more than 6,700 buildings -- most of them residences -- have been consumed by the late-season inferno, which is now California's most destructive fire on record.

Governor-elect Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to provide assistance to the hardest-hit areas in the fire-prone state.

The fast-moving blaze in the north, which authorities have named the "Camp Fire," broke out early Thursday.

Fanned by strong winds, it has so far scorched 100,000 acres and is 20 percent contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said yesterday. So far,  more than 3,200 firefighters have been deployed.

They estimate they will need three weeks to fully contain the blaze.

Local power authorities have told state officials an outage occurred near the spot where the fire erupted, The Sacramento Bee reported, but there is still no official cause of the Camp blaze.

In southern California, more wildfires burned including one just north of Los Angeles and another in Ventura County near Thousand Oaks, where a Marine Corps veteran shot dead 12 people in a country music bar on Wednesday.

Authorities said some 200,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders, including the entire city of Malibu.

The "Woolsey Fire" had consumed around 35,000 acres and was so far not contained, the Ventura County Fire Department said, adding that evacuation orders were issued for some 88,000 homes in the county and neighboring Los Angeles County.

Malibu is one of the most in-demand locations in California for stars seeking privacy and luxury.T

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, who lives just north of coastal Malibu, revealed she was forced to flee her home. Actor Martin Sheen, briefly reported missing by his actor son Charlie, was also forced to evacuate.

In Paradise, the flames destroyed hundreds of homes, a hospital, a gas station, several restaurants and numerous vehicles, officials said.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for more than 52,000 people in the scenic area in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.