California fires: Trump declares major disaster

A series of massive fires in northern and central California forced more evacuations

US President Donald Trump has declared a major disaster in the US state of California as emergency services try to tackle massive wildfires.

In doing so, President Trump has released federal aid meaning people living there will get more help from the government.

More than 14,000 fire-fighters are battling 585 fires that have now burnt nearly an area that is the equivalent of half a million football pitches.

The wildfires which were caused by a heatwave followed by almost 12,000 lightning strikes, are some of the biggest in California's history.

Hundreds of thousands of people have had to leave their homes for safety.

At least 43 people including fire-fighters have been injured and six people have died.

The Governor for California, Gavin Newsom, said: "We simply haven't seen anything like this in many, many years."

Firefighters have been tackling the blazes and evacuating people from their homes to safety

Many of the fires are now burning in places where it's difficult to put them out, such as hills and mountains.

In California's oldest state park, flames scorched redwood trees that began their lives more than 2,000 years ago. The trees, which tower as high as 330ft (100 metres), have fallen as the area was "extensively damaged" by the fires.

Meanwhile weather forecasts for high winds are threatening to send the flames into more populated areas.

An evacuation order on Saturday was sent to thousands of people in the Bay area south of San Francisco and next to the city of San Jose. The message warned people to be prepared to leave their homes at short notice.

Park officials fear that redwoods, the world's tallest trees, have fallen in the fires

California also has fewer people to help deal with the fires because of coronavirus.

Normally fire-fighting corps who are made up of prisoners help regular fire fighters to tackle bush fires and have done so since World War Two.

But in an effort to control coronavirus in prisons, many have been released from jail early.

On Friday, Governor Newsom said "these fires are stretching our resources, our personnel", and asked for help from other countries including "the world's best wildfire-fighters" from Australia.

With more than 650,000 coronavirus cases, California also has the highest number of infections in the US, and some people who have left their homes are now afraid to go into emergency shelters.

Emergency shelters in California are enforcing social distancing rules and mask wearing though, and have even given individual tents to families to self-isolate.

The hot temperatures in California have also led to an increase in electricity usage as people attempt to keep cool with fans and air conditioning.

The state's energy operator has been asking residents to limit their electricity use to avoid scheduled blackouts. This would leave millions of people without power for extended periods of time.