California fires claim two more victims

California Highway Patrol officer Gavin Graham surveys homes levelled by the Carr Fire in the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding. Photo / AP

Two more people have died in California's fires.

Seven people in total have now died in the current fires in the American state.

A Northern California sheriff says a sixth person has died in a raging fire that has destroyed more than 500 buildings.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said that the remains were found within the boundary of the Carr Fire near Redding, about 370km north of San Francisco.

He said the victim, who was not identified, didn't evacuate despite receiving an evacuation warning.

Bosenko says the sheriff's department has seven outstanding missing persons reports.

The fire has also claimed the lives of two firefighters and two children and their great-grandmother.

Fire officials say crews have stopped some of the growth of the blaze.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Incident Commander Bret Gouvea said firefighters were gaining some ground on the blaze, as opposed to being strictly in a defensive posture.

Authorities say a second firefighter has died fighting a huge blaze near California's Yosemite National Park.

Mike Theune, a spokesman for the so-called Ferguson Fire, says the firefighter was treated for injuries at the scene today but died before he could be taken to hospital.

Theune says the firefighter was part of a crew removing brush and other fuel near the fire's front lines. Earlier this month, a firefighter was killed when the bulldozer he was operating overturned.

Officials have ordered the town of Lakeport in Northern California to evacuate as a fire moves toward the Lake County recreation area.

Lake County Sheriff's Lieutenant Corey Paulich says the order brings the number of evacuations in Lake County to about 7500, up from the previous 2500.

- AP

A California scrub jay perches on a burnt branch at California's Whiskeytown Lake, in an area devastated by the Carr Fire. Photo / AP