California Brush Fire Kills One, Forces Evacuations

A raging wildfire raced into a town in northern California early Friday, killing one person and sending people fleeing, authorities said.

The so-called Carr fire outside Redding swept across a river late Thursday and is only six percent contained.

It killed a private bulldozer operator who was fighting the blaze, said Bret Gouvea, a commander with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

He said the blaze engulfed the western part of the town of 90,000 people.

"The fire is moving so fast that law enforcement is doing evacuations as fast as we can. There have been some injuries to civilians and firefighters," said department spokesman Scott McLean.

More than a dozen structures have burned, authorities said.

They said the fire, one of many that have charred California this summer, has chewed up more than 28,000 acres (11,300 hectares). It grew by nearly 10,000 acres on Thursday alone.