California firefighters have managed to bring a large wildfire under control near Los Angeles after a tropical storm brought rain and cooler temperatures, US authorities said on Saturday.
The Fairview blaze was 40% contained Saturday night after killing two people, fire officials said.
The fire broke out on Monday amid a heat wave that is affecting the southwestern United States, burning 11,300 acres and destroying more than 20 buildings.
By contrast, the remnants of Storm Kay, which made landfall in Mexico on Thursday as a hurricane before moving north on the Pacific coast, brought rains that helped quell the blaze.
“Fire intensity has been significantly reduced due to humidity from Tropical Storm Kay,” said a statement from Cal Fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Authorities have warned, however, that the rains pose a risk of flash flooding and mudslides in areas where scorched soil cannot absorb excess water.
“We could go from a fire suppression event to heavy rain with water rescues and mudslides,” fire official Jeff Veik said Friday.
The western United States has been experiencing a historic drought for more than two decades that scientists say is made worse by human-induced climate change. Much of the territory is parched and overgrown, creating the conditions for wildfires.
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