NZer — 8 years ago(December 07, 2017 02:18 AM)

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11954937
Ferocious wildfires continued to rage across Southern California on Wednesday, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing thousands of residents to flee as forecasters and officials warned that dangerous fires could endanger the region for days.
The wave of fires that broke out early this week spread quickly and mercilessly. The largest blaze expanded across nearly 300sq km - a region almost as big as Wellington.
Emergency responders hurried to evacuate residents, protect homes and close roads across the region, even as authorities warned that the biggest fire was "still out of control" early Wednesday and keeping crews from entering the area.
This largest fire, known as the Thomas Fire, had erupted in Ventura County northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The Thomas Fire tore across 26,300ha by Wednesday morning, and the blaze destroyed hundreds of homes, threatened 12,000 structures and forced 27,000 people to evacuate, officials said. Most of those who fled were left wondering whether their homes were among those destroyed.