Warnings of extreme fire danger have been extended to much of southern California and Yosemite National Park as winds pick up in the dry conditions.
Firefighters made some progress on in corralling the so-called Thomas Fire, which has spread into national forest land north west of Los Angeles
But Cal Fire has now issued a red flag warning that the fire would continue to spread west as it eats up parched brush.
Pockets of vegetation burn in Montecito, California as the Thomas Fire continues to burn
The Thomas Fire approaches a home in Montecito, California. The fire is one of the biggest in the state’s history
The remains of fire damaged vehicles remain outside a home in the hills of Toro Canyon north of Santa Barbara
Firefighters watch as fires burn across Romero Canyon hillside in Montecito
A Christmas tree stands in the yard of an evacuated home in Carpinteria. A lack of rain is keeping firefighters ‘on edge’
The warning area encompasses a wide stretch from Long Beach to Santa Barbara and then heads north toward Bakersfield and into the Sierra range to Yosemite.
Cal Fire spokesperson Jordan Motta told SF Gate said the face ‘that there’s no forecasted rain is till something that’s keeping us on edge and we’re remaining vigilant. The potential is still there to have fires especially in areas with brush.’
‘When you have the conditions like we’re observing right now with high-pressure parked off the coast and a low-pressure system to the east, all of that is acting like a giant dry air pump and it’s pumping all the dry air into Southern California.
‘Typically this is more of a late fall weather pattern. It’s somewhat atypical in December, but it can obviously happen as it is now.’
Clouds form in the distance as two homes stay standing after surviving an early morning wildfire at the Shepard Mesa neighborhood
People stand on a roof of a home illuminated with Christmas lights to watch wildfire on a hillside burn during the Thomas Fire in Santa Barbara county near Carpinteria
Cal Fire says high pressure is ‘acting like a giant dry air pump and it’s pumping all the dry air into Southern California’
Santa Barbara firefighter Nikolas Abele during an in Santa Monica Canyon in Carpinteria
Flames from a wildfire consume the mountainside near the Cate School campus
Trees burn amid burnig embers in Toro Canyon. A red-warning of more fire danger has now been extended to up state California
Since the blaze broke out on December 4, it has burned more than 372 square miles and destroyed 921 buildings – including at least 700 homes
The sun turned red from the fire’s smoke in Santa Paula. The Thomas fire burned through 236,000 acres
An air tanker makes a drop ahead of the Thomas fire in the hills above Fillmore
Yosemite National Park was hit by a fire in July. It is now once again under threat from the Thomas Fire
By Wednesday evening, state fire officials said the blaze was 30 per cent contained but continued to threaten Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Summerland and Montecito – a wealthy area home to celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey.
Actor Rob Lowe was among residents who evacuated over the weekend.
Since the blaze broke out on December 4, it has burned more than 372 square miles and destroyed 921 buildings – including at least 700 homes.
It threatens 18,000 buildings and has prompted evacuations of about 100,000 people.
To the south in San Diego County, firefighters are close to containing another major wildfire a week after it broke out.
It also killed 46 racehorses at a training centre, and left one of their trainers with serious burns.