Southern California wildfires destroy hundreds of homes
A state of emergency has been declared in several counties as fast-moving wildfires spread across Southern California.
Thousands of people have been forced to flee the blazes, which has burned at least 55,000 acres of land.
In downtown Ventura more than 38,000 people were forced to evacuate.
The fire has been pushing west towards the Pacific Ocean and critical conditions are expected until Friday.
Officials said the ‘Thomas’ blaze started as a 50-acre brush fire in foothills east of Santa Paula at around 6.30pm on Monday but due to strong winds and dry weather, fire fighters have been unable to contain it.
Emergency services fear hundreds of homes are lost.
At least 150 buildings were destroyed in Ventura County and a fire official said he expects ‘hundreds more’ are destroyed.
Parts of heavily populated Los Angeles County was also under evacuation with as many as 150,000 people displaced as the ‘Creek’ wildfire raged toward the city.
The latest wildfire, which yesterday was about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is the latest in a series of blazes to hit the California tourism industry hard.
Most notable was the recent wildfires in the Napa and Sonoma wine growing regions which decimated several hotels and wineries.
The area has only just got back on track, a major campaign to lure visitors back to Northern California.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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