The local authority confirmed Friday that one person was killed by wildfire which tore through a mobile home park in the city of Calimesa, 115 kilometers east of downtown Los Angeles, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
California Fire Department Spokeswoman Cathey Mattingly said that some other people were also injured in the wildfire which reportedly erupted when a trash truck dumped its burning load near brush outside of the mobile home park Thursday afternoon, but she did not know the number or severity of the injuries.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said there are two other people who have not been located, but he said he did not want to characterize them as "missing" since authorities are in the process of identifying everyone who would have been inside the mobile home park, according to Southern California Public Radio.
The fire, dubbed Sandalwood Fire, grew to 842 acres (3.4 square kilometers) by Friday morning and was reported to be 10 percent contained, local ABC7 news channel said, 76 structures, mainly homes at the hilltop park were destroyed.
Multiple agencies assigned a combined 250 firefighters to the incident, supported by two air tankers and a helicopter that were dropping Phos-Chek and water at the scene, but the fire crews' work were hampered by strong wind overnight.
A red flag warning has been in place throughout the Southern California since early Thursday morning.