A raging California wildfire powered by fierce winds has grown into the third-largest in the state’s history, as forced evacuations have turned neighbourhoods into ghost towns and ash fell in some areas like heavy snow.
High winds and dry conditions were expected to remain through the weekend to power the so-called Thomas Fire in southern California.
It has destroyed more than 1,000 structures and threatened 18,000 more since erupting on 4 December.
"It is a beast," Santa Barbara County Fire Department Division Chief Martin Johnson told a news conference.
"But we will kill it," he said.
Nearly 8,500 personnel using nearly 1,000 engines and 32 helicopters were battling the blaze, which was 40% contained yesterday evening.
It has become the seventh-most destructive in state history, officials said.
A new evacuation order was issued for parts of Santa Barbara County yesterday as high winds whipped the fire through bone-dry terrain.
In Montecito, smoke billowing from nearby canyons and pushed by the high winds choked the air, hindering aircraft from dropping flame retardant, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services said.
The wildfire forced many schools to close for days, shut roads and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.
It was also responsible for poor air quality throughout southern California.
An evacuation order for the city of Ventura, which was hit hard in the first days of the fire, was lifted yesterday morning.
The total cost of fighting the fire had come to more than $110m by yesterday evening, as flames blazing over steep hills lit up the night skies.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The 13 days of shifting winds and evacuations have taken their toll on a weary population.
This year has been unprecedented for California in terms of structures lost and the size of the wildfires, officials said.
Five of the 20 most destructive fires in recorded history ravaged the state in 2017, according to Cal Fire.
The largest wildfire in Californian state history was the 2003 Cedar blaze in San Diego County that consumed 273,246 acres and caused 15 deaths.
Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson died on Thursday while battling the flames near the Ventura County community of Fillmore.
