California wildfires: TV station forced to evacuate live on air

'We are going to leave the station because it is now unsafe to be here'

The hosts of a local news programme were live on air when they announced they were being evacuated because a wildfire was approaching their studio.

Allison Woods and Tamara Damante were providing live coverage of the blaze for KRCR-TV as it tore through Northern California, reaching the city of Redding where it destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands to flee.

As the flames drew near their studio, Ms Woods announced: "We've been here live and right now we are being evacuated. We are going to leave the station because it is now unsafe to be here".

Ms Damante then pleaded with residents to follow the evacuation order in place and "stay safe", before returning to a live webcam shot showing the ominous orange glow of the fire in the distance.

The 45-square-mile Carr Fire reportedly began on Monday and tripled in size overnight on Thursday. A powerful cocktail of scorching temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions all fanned the flames.