Thousands more people have fled their homes after wildfires surged near a small lake town in northern California as crews, stretched to their limits across the state, fight flames that have claimed the lives of both firefighters and civilians.

Residents of the waterfront town of Lakeport fled on Sunday after a major flare-up of two fires that combined across Mendocino and Lake counties destroyed at least four homes. Lakeport, home to about 5,000, is around 120 miles (192km) north of San Francisco. More than 4,500 buildings were under threat, officials said. The two fires had blackened 47 sq miles (122 sq km), with minimal containment. About 100 miles north-east, officials near Redding struck a hopeful tone for the first time in days as a massive fire slowed after days of explosive growth.(theguardian)…[+]