Around 8,000 assistants are currently trying to extinguish two major fires in California. One, the "Camp Fire" rages in the north of the US state, the other, called "Woolsey Fire," in the Malibu area. At least 25 people have already been killed by the flames. More victims are feared, because drought, heat and strong winds exacerbate the situation.

The fire in the north had broken out Thursday in northeastern Sacramento, in Butte County. "Camp Fire" is called the fire in reference to its place of origin, the Camp Creek Road. So far, the flames have mainly devastated the small town of Paradise, in this area there were 23 of the previously confirmed deaths.

Some of the bodies were discovered in burned-out cars or in their vicinity, according to the police. A mobile DNA laboratory and anthropologists will now help identify the dead. More than a hundred people are also considered missing, one fears, for example, in house ruins to find.

The "Camp Fire" is already one of the most successful, the state has ever experienced, 4000 auxiliary workers are in action.

Churches, shops and schools burned down

All in all, a quarter of a million people in California are currently unable to live in their apartments and houses - if they are even livable at all. Because in Paradise alone 6700 houses are to be burned down, 15,000 other buildings in the area are still considered threatened by the flames. 27,000 people live in the city itself.

The extent of the destruction is hard to describe, said the mayor of the small community the US channel CNN. Her house burned down, as had all members of the city council lost their homes, said Jody Jones. They are facing "hard work" to rebuild the place where the fire has razed churches, shops, schools and restaurants to the ground.

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Paradise and Malibu: major fires in California

Also in Malibu the situation is serious

At the "Woolsey Fire", 800 kilometers further, two fatalities are known so far: their burned bodies were found in a vehicle in a driveway. By Saturday night, the fire was burning thousands of acres of land, destroying at least 177 properties. Burned down is, among others, the Paramount Ranch, a backdrop for cowboy films and shows, where, among other things for "West World" was filmed.

Also affected by the flames was the town of Thousand Oaks, where 13 people were shot dead last week in a shooting rampage.

The authorities repeatedly called residents in the danger zones to follow eviction orders. Malibu and neighboring towns on the northern outskirts of Los Angeles have been officially evacuated, and the authorities are still worried that plunder may occur.

Many celebrities have expensive villas on the coast and in the adjacent hill country. Stars like singer and actress Lady Gaga, director and Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro, and television stars Caitlyn Jenner and Kim Kardashian were hit by the eviction. The destroyed property also included that of TV presenter Gottschalk.

Lady Gaga thanked the firefighters, police and helpers. "You are true heroes," the star wrote on Twitter. Kim Kardashian called via the short message service to donations for fire brigade organizations.

Anger over Trump's tweets

US President Donald Trump accused the authorities of California of mismanagement at first, and in the social media many users complained about his reaction. "This is an absolutely heartless answer," singer Katy Perry wrote on Twitter. California Fire Brigade chief Brian Rice dismissed the allegations as "dangerously wrong." Trump's comments are "demeaning" for the victims and "for the men and women fighting on the fronts."

Hours after his first intervention on the subject, the president changed his tone and expressed his sympathy to the firefighters and those affected. "The destruction is catastrophic, God bless everyone," he wrote, calling on people to follow evacuation calls. On Sunday, however, Trump reversed to the other thrust and said, with a reasonable forest management to stop destructive fires like that in California.