'Come and get me,' boy pleaded before fire death

REDDING, California - A young boy pleaded for rescue before he died along with two others in a California wildfire, an anguished relative recounted on Monday, while other shaken survivors told of their flight from a "tornado" of fire.

About 12,000 firefighters in California made some progress against several large-scale blazes that have turned around 80,940 hectares into an ashen wasteland, destroyed expensive homes, and killed eight fire personnel and civilians in the most populous US state.

The worst blaze, northern California's Carr Fire, has killed six people since Thursday, including a 70-year-old woman and her two great-grandchildren, aged 4 and 5. They perished when flames swallowed their home in Redding.