High winds expected to flame California fires this weekend
News agency
Thursday, December 7, 2017, 3:54 PM - Armies of firefighters on Friday battled an expanding front of Southern California wildfires that have raged for five days and destroyed at least 500 structures, with the gusty winds expected to drive the conflagrations into the weekend.
Almost 200,000 Californians have been chased from their homes as more than 5,700 firefighters battled six large wind-stoked fires and several smaller ones that erupted since Monday.
The blazes stretch from the San Diego area up the Pacific Coast to Santa Barbara County, putting billions of dollars of property at risk. U.S.
President Donald Trump on Friday issued a federal emergency declaration for California, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security to coordinate relief efforts.
The National Weather Service on Friday forecast continued extreme fire danger conditions, with peak wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour (80 km per hour) through Sunday from the dry Santa Ana winds blowing westward from the California desert.
Burned mobile homes are seen at the Monserate Country Club after the Lilac Fire, a fast moving wildfire, swept through their community in Bonsall, California, U.S., December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Burned mobile homes are seen at the Monserate Country Club after the Lilac Fire, a fast moving wildfire, swept through their community in Bonsall, California, U.S., December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
A firefighter is working on extinguishing the Lilac Fire, a fast moving wildfire in Bonsall, California, U.S., December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The Lilac Fire, a fast moving wildfire, continues to burn in Bonsall, California, U.S., December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
A stucture burns in the Lilac Fire, a fast moving wildfire in Bonsall, California, U.S., December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
A photo taken from the International Space Station and moved on social media by astronaut Randy Bresnik shows smoke rising from wildfire burning in Southern California, U.S., December 6, 2017. Courtesy @AstroKomrade/NASA/Handout via REUTERS
Flames from the Skirball Fire spread on a hillside in a wealthy neighbourhood on the west side of Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 6, 2017. REUTERS/Gene Blevins
A helicopter drops water on a vineyard owned by Rupert Murdoch damaged by the Skirball fire near the Bel Air neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 6, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Cullen REUTERS/Gene Blevins
The remains of a home are seen, after it burned to the ground, during a wind-driven wildfire in Ventura, California, U.S., December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Some live stock animals try to keep away from the flames after an early-morning Creek Fire broke out in the Kagel Canyon area in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles, in Sylmar, California, U.S., December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Gene Blevins
A weather vane is pictured on a ranch during the Creek Fire in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles, in Sylmar, California, U.S., December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn
A fire crew passes a burning home during a wind-driven wildfire in Ventura, California, U.S., December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
WATCH BELOW: Footage shows 'unbelievable conditions' as Creek fire burns in LA
The remains of a home are seen, after it burned to the ground, during a wind-driven wildfire in Ventura, California, U.S., December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
A structure is engulfed in flames from a Santa Ana wind-driven brush fire called the Thomas Fire in Santa Paula, California, December 4, 2017. Photo taken December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gene Blevins
Smoke rises into the night sky as strong winds push the Thomas Fire across thousands of acres near Santa Paula, California, U.S., December 4, 2017. Picture taken December 4, 2017. REUTERS/David McNew
Firefighters battle a Santa Ana wind-driven brush fire called the Thomas Fire near Ventura, California, December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Gene Blevins
Firefighters battle flames from a Santa Ana wind-driven brush fire called the Thomas Fire in Santa Paula, California, December 4, 2017. Photo taken December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gene Blevins
Flames spread behind a vehicle from a Santa Ana wind-driven brush fire called the Thomas Fire in Santa Paula, California, December 4, 2017. Photo taken December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gene Blevins
