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Raging southern California wildfires showed no signs of abating early yesterday. Three people have been injured, prompting evacuation of 4,000 homes a day after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency.

The blazes, including some just a few km north of sprawling Los Angeles, were still "out of control," according to fire officials. By mid-afternoon the fires had engulfed over 8,000 hectares of vegetation.

The flames, being fought by more than 1,800 firefighters and fire planes dropping their loads of water, also threatened 10,000 other individual homes and nearly 2,500 other structures.

A thick plume of smoke had settled over Los Angeles.

Describing the fires' potential for spreading as "extreme," the US Forest Service said the blazes were being helped by high temperatures that are set to continue throughout the region for several days.

Only five percent of them were formally "under control," the authorities acknowledged.

The San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles has experienced record heat and low humidity, with temperatures soaring above 38 C in the hottest locations, the National Weather Service said in its red flag warning for the region.

Schwarzenegger declared states of emergency in Los Angeles and Monterey counties on Friday in response to the wildfires.

A key factor in the fires' spread is that the areas most at risk are covered with vegetation that has not experienced fire for some four decades, making it even more susceptible to the blaze. Wildfires have also scorched the northern portion of the state.

California is frequently hit by wildfires and in 2007 suffered the worst blazes in its history. Those wildfires forced the evacuation of 640,000 residents and destroyed around 2,000 homes in southern California.

Questions:

1. Who is the Governor of California?

2. What area east of Los Angeles has experienced temperatures above 38 C?

3. What is one of the key factors in the fires’ spread?

Answers:

1. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

2. The San Gabriel Valley.

3. The areas most at risk are covered with vegetation that has not experienced fire for some four decades, making it even more susceptible to the blaze.

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.