LOS ANGELES: Thousands of firefighters were battling one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history Monday as it crept relentlessly up the Pacific coast and forced new evacuations. As a wildfire near Los Angeles was brought under control, fire crews were being redeployed to battle the Thomas Fire northwest of America’s second-largest city. Eric Boldt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, said he did not see any immediate respite to the dry, windy conditions that are fueling the blaze. Despite the intensity of the fires stretching from north of Los Angeles down to San Diego, authorities have reported only one fatality – a 70-year-old woman who died in a car crash while fleeing a blaze. More than 40 people died in October when fires swept through the state’s wine-producing counties north of San Francisco.

Source: New Strait Times December 11, 2017 23:03 UTC