Firefighters battle blazes in Utah and California as blistering heat persists

Wildfire near Salt Lake City quickly grew to more than 200 acres as flames level homes in southern California

Firefighters across the US west were battling to contain multiple blazes on Monday amid blisteringly high temperatures, including a wildfire that forced evacuations near Salt Lake City, over the weekend and another that destroyed several homes in southern California.

The Sandhurst fire broke out on Saturday afternoon near the Utah capital and quickly grew to more than 200 acres (81 hectares). Authorities said more than 100 firefighters responded to the scene, with helicopters and planes dropping buckets over the flames as ground crews tried to douse the fire, which was only 10% contained as of Monday.