California Smoke Now Covers 3/4 Of The State

Third firefighter killed in California as smoke now covers three quarters of the state

• Firefighter Andrew Brake, 40, was killed on Thursday in a traffic collision as he was responding to the Carr Fire in northern California 
• Officials said his Cal Fire support vehicle veered off the road at a curve, hit a tree and went up in flames 
• Brake worked as a Cal Fire heavy equipment mechanic from the Butte Unit and had been assigned to the Carr Fire 
• Firefighters across the state are battling more than a dozen wildfires, including the Holy Fire and the Mendocino Complex Fire 
• The Mendocino Complex Fire is the largest wildfire in California history 

A northern California fire mechanic assigned to the Carr Fire was killed on Thursday in a traffic collision, bringing the death toll from that blaze to eight. 

Andrew Brake, of Chico, died in a single-car crash around 12.15am on Highway 99 in Tehama County when his Cal Fire support vehicle veered off the road at a curve, hit a tree and went up in flames.

Fire officials said Brake was pronounced dead at the scene, KRCR reports. He worked as a Cal Fire heavy equipment mechanic from the Butte Unit.

Photos show towns in northern California completely destroyed by the fast-moving flames and smoke billowing high into the air. An eerie red glow is cast over other areas as firefighters work to contain the blazes. 

According to CBS News, the heavy smoke is providing some shade for firefighters battling the Mendocino Complex Fire, which is now the largest wildfire in the state's history after the Ranch Fire and River Fire were combined.

It took firefighters more than six months to extinguish the Thomas Fire last year, which previously held the title for the largest wildfire in California history.  

Other fires still raging in California include the fast-moving Holy Fire, which was started on Monday in Holy Jim Canyon area of the Cleveland National Forest. Officials said the blaze has displaced 20,000 people and is only five per cent contained.

Authorities arrested 51-year-old Holy Jim resident Forrest Gordon Clark on Tuesday on suspicion of staring the fire. Volunteer fire chief Mike Milligan said Clark has been in a decade-long dispute with his neighbors and sent Milligan a letter last week threatening to burn the area down.