Holy Fire rages on in California

Fifty-one-year-old Forrest Clark was arrested on Tuesday (August 7) on suspicion of setting the Holy Fire and charged with multiple criminal counts, including aggravated arson and making criminal threats, the Orange County District Attorney Office said in a statement on Thursday (August 9).

In the Cleveland National Forest area of Southern California's Orange County, the 9,600-acre (3,885-hectare) Holy Fire is five per cent contained, officials said.

Clark, who faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted, was held on bail of $1 million. His arraignment was rescheduled from Thursday to Friday (August 10).

The Holy Fire has displaced 20,000 people, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

Further north, California Senator Kamala Harris visited victims of the Mendocino Complex Fire, which now ranks as the largest fire on record in the state.