California wildfire: More than 130 homes destroyed as firefighters struggle to contain raging blaze
Firefighters in California are working to contain a wildfire that has destroyed more than130 buildings in two days and forced thousands of people to evacuate.
The blaze started on Wednesday morning and was driven by strong wind gusts of 60 mph.
It spread from less than half a square mile to 16 square miles in just over five hours, prompting authorities in the Ventura County to issue more than 14,000 evacuation orders.
At least 132 properties have been destroyed and 88 damaged, Ventura County Fire Department officials said.
One resident who evacuated with his wife said that when they returned home, all that was left was part of the burned-out steel frame.
“It’s tough, it’s really tough to know how to process the emotions,” Joey Parish told Los Angeles based KNBC-TV on Thursday.
“Neither one of us has been able to cry yet.
“What I have on my back is what I came out with. My cellphone, and not even a charger, and no toothbrush - nothing," he said.
Ten people suffered smoke inhalation or other non-life-threatening injuries, Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff said.
Officials in several southern California counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees.
However, the worst of the winds are predicted to have passed; winds will blow at 5 mph to 10 mph on Friday compared to the gusts of 60 mph earlier this week.
The fire was burning in a region that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires over the years.
The number of extreme autumn fire-weather days in California has more than doubled since the early 1980s because of warmer and drier autumns as global temperatures rise, research shows.
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