Since Friday 31 July, at the end of the afternoon, the"Apple Fire" ravaging the Cherry Valley and the San Bernardino national forest, located in southern California and one hundred miles east of Los Angeles. More than 8,300 hectares have already disappeared. At least 2 600 households and about 7 to 800 people had to be evacuated and the fire brigade were not able to announce when residents could return home.

20 hours (Paris time) on Sunday, more than 1,300 soldiers of the fire, aided by helicopters, trucks and bombers were deployed in the area. After having managed to contain 12 % of the fire in the beginning of the day, the fire was no longer content in the early afternoon and continued to grow. No victim has been reported for the moment, the damage is limited to two buildings and a house.

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An original fire ciminielle ?

The north and south edges of the fire are located in the sides of steep hills and rugged terrain not accessible for fire trucks, said the authorities. The dense vegetation has also fed the fire that continued to burn with great intensity close to dwellings, detailed on Friday, Fernando Herrera, captain of the fire brigade of the county of Riverside. The activity of the fire is expected to remain high on Sunday, because of the warm temperatures and drought. An investigation is underway to determine the origin of the fire, which could be criminal.