Fanned by gusting winds, wildfires raged in densely populated Southern California for a fourth day on Thursday, with a new blaze north of San Diego exploding in size in just a few hours and dangerous conditions forecast until Sunday.
Fanned by gusting winds, wildfires raged in densely populated Southern California for a fourth day on Thursday, with a new blaze north of San Diego exploding in size in just a few hours and dangerous conditions forecast until Sunday.
The blazes destroyed hundreds of houses and forced many Los Angeles-area schools to close. Flames hopscotched over highways and railroad tracks, and residents rushed to evacuate their homes with only minutes' warning, some leaving behind holiday gifts. People feared for the safety of animals from cats to llamas.
1. Aerial view
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This NASA Earth Observatory image obtained December 7, 2017 shows On December 5, 2017, what the Multi Spectral Imager (MSI) on the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite captured in the data for a false-color image of the burn scar in Ventura County, California. Active fires appear orange; the burn scar is brown. Unburned vegetation is green; developed areas are gray. The Sentinel-2 image is based on observations of visible, shortwave infrared, and near infrared light. The fires mainly affected a forested, hilly area north of Ventura, but flames have encroached into the northern edge of the city - AFP
2. Dousing the flames
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A firefighter works to extinguish the Thomas Fire after it jumped past the 101 Highway towards the Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura, California, December 7, 2017.Local emergency officials warned of powerful winds on Thursday that will feed wildfires raging in Los Angeles, threatening multi-million dollar mansions with blazes that have already forced more than 200,000 people to flee - AFP
3. Staring at horror
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Police and Fire crews watch as the Thomas Fire burns a hillside in Ojai, California, December 7, 2017.Local emergency officials warned of powerful winds on Thursday that will feed wildfires raging in Los Angeles, threatening multi-million dollar mansions with blazes that have already forced more than 200,000 people to flee - AFP
4. The fire continues
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Vehicles pass a fire on the southbound side of US 101 freeway in Mondos Beach, west of Ventura, California on December 7, 2017 where high winds across southern California have been a recipe for explosive fire growth - AFP
5. Battling nature's fury
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Two firefighters watch as a home burns in a wildfire in La Conchita, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. The wind-swept blazes have forced tens of thousands of evacuations and destroyed dozens of homes - PTI
6. Highway to hell?
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7. Fighting the flames
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