A massive wildfire burning out of control in the foothills of Central California left at least 150 homes in ruins and damaged another 75, officials said, warning that more residents may be forced to flee the advancing flames. The so-called Erskine fire, which began on Thursday some 40 miles (64 km) Northeast of Bakersfield in Kern County, has already claimed at least two lives, sent three firefighters to the hospital and forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, Swiss Info reported. More than 1,100 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blaze, which has blackened some 35,700 acres and was zero percent contained as of Saturday afternoon. California Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for Kern County. Crews were working in steep, rugged terrain, fighting flames that were fueled by hot, dry weather and brush, grass and chaparral left bone dry by California's devastating five-year drought. The Los Angeles Times reported that investigators had found what they believed to be the remains of a third victim at a mobile home in the community of South Lake. "We are treating it like a crime scene. It appears to be one set of human remains, pretty badly burned," Kern County Sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt told the paper. Authorities say the cause of the fire remains unknown. Southeast of Lake Isabella, dozens of burned-out homes and car frames were left behind in a neighborhood reduced to a field of mangled metal and collapsed roofs. To the south, firefighters were struggling to manage the so-called San Gabriel Complex fire in the foothills of Los Angeles County. There were two fires that started on Friday and cover a combined 5,285 acres, fire officials said. Containment was at nearly 50 percent for both blazes.
