California firefighters make progress against first large fire of the year

The western US state has struggled to cope with wildfires that have grown in size and destructiveness in the last decade.

Firefighters have made significant progress in their efforts to contain a wildfire near the San Francisco Bay Area in the western US state of California.

The state firefighting agency Cal Fire said that the Corral Fire, which started on Saturday afternoon, was 75 percent contained as of Monday. One home has been destroyed and two firefighters injured.

“Weather conditions became more favorable for firefighters, allowing crews to make progress constructing and improving control lines,” Cal Fire said in an update on its website, noting that 475 personnel were working to contain the fire.

The fire has burned more than 5,706 hectares (14,100 acres), making it the largest of the year in California, where fire conditions tend to worsen as temperatures climb in the spring and summer.

According to Cal Fire, eight of the 10 largest fires in recorded state history have occurred since 2017. Some experts have said a confluence of factors has driven the surge of large, destructive fires: unusual drought and heat exacerbated by climate change, overgrown forests and rising populations in areas adjacent to wildland.