US suffers third worst wildfire year in decade

Wildfires in the US have made 2017 the country's third most devastating fire year in the past decade, according to official data.

The data by the National Interagency Fire Centre issued on Monday revealed that there were a total of 38 large wildfires burning in the country, including seven in California and 18 in Montana, reports Xinhua news agency.

On Monday, 10 new large fires were reported.

In 2017, wildfires in the country has been scorching 4,979,945 acres of land, of which Lodgepole Complex Fire in remote central Montana could be the worst wildfire with 226,000 acres in size and only 5 per cent contained till Monday.

In California, wildfires are spreading throughout more than 217,000 acres in total, an area about 10 per cent larger than New York city.

The most concerning of the seven large wildfires raging in California is the Detwiler fire, which has driven more than 4,000 residents from their homes and is threatening the historic town of Mariposa outside Yosemite National Park.

More than 3,000 firefighters has been battling with the 48,000 acre blaze for more than one week but has only contained 7 per cent.

--IANS

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