New York, Nov 13 (IANS) Firefighters in the western US state of California gained a foothold in the battle against a wildfire north of Los Angeles while weather officials have issued red flag warnings across the US Northeast where blazes turned deadly over the weekend.

The Mountain Fire in California's Ventura County burned 20,630 acres of land as of Tuesday, an amount it has held near for several days after 80 mph winds fuelled its explosive growth last week, USA Today reported.

As winds slowed, firefighters managed to bring the containment level to 48 per cent, allowing officials to downgrade several evacuation orders. The fire has torched nearly 200 homes and businesses, injured six people, and threatened thousands of structures, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, in the Northeast, weather officials issued red flag warnings from New Jersey to Massachusetts after a bout of modest weekend rainfall failed to douse the region's wildfire threat, reported USA Today about the developments.

Up to 0.30 inches of rain fell on Sunday, marking the first rainfall in over a month in parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, but the dry soil and leaves quickly absorbed the rain and have again become fertile ground for fires, authorities were quoted as saying.

"While that more active pattern will bring some opportunities for rain this week, it does not guarantee that every spot will get enough rain to keep the fire potential at bay," said John Feerick, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.

"Some locations could go at least a full week without a drop of rain."

--IANS

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