See the devastation caused by wildfires ravaging Southern California

Firefighters battle intense flames

Firefighters are struggling for a fourth day to get an upper hand on wildfires in Southern California, where four major fires have put tens of thousands of people under evacuation orders and destroyed nearly 200 homes and buildings, a figure that is almost certain to grow.

A wall of fire

Firefighters faced a wall of flames early Thursday morning at the Thomas fire in Ventura County. It is the largest of the four wildfires that have been devouring homes since Monday and is now threatening the city of Ojai.

Unpredictable winds 

Authorities closed a major freeway Thursday as flames from the largest Southern California wildfire jumped lanes and churned toward coastal and mountain communities northwest of Los Angeles. A more favourable wind forecast still called for potentially dangerous gusts, but ones not likely to approach historic levels forecasters had feared, according to the National Weather Service.

Evacuation orders in Ventura County 

Calmer overnight conditions helped crews protect the Ventura County resort town of Ojai, where most of the 7,000 residents were under new evacuation orders following a big burst of wind late Wednesday. 

Highways closed

Officials closed U.S. 101 for dozens of kilometres along the coast, cutting off a major route between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties for several hours as fire charred heavy brush along lanes.

A burned classic car is seen in Little Tujunga Canyon during the Creek Fire near Sylmar, on Wednesday.

Bel-Air ablaze

A Los Angeles County Fire helicopter flies over the Skirball Fire, which began early Wednesday morning in Bel-Air.

The view from space

This satellite image from the NASA Earth Observatory shows smoke and flames from one of several fires burning north of Ventura, on Tuesday afternoon.

Residents scramble to save their homes

Carolyn Potter tries to save her house as she throws dirt on her fence along Nye Road in Ventura County. 

John and Julie Wilson sort through the remnants of their burned home after the Thomas wildfire swept through Ventura, on Wednesday. 

The remains of a home are seen after it burned to the ground during a wind-driven wildfire in Ventura County. 

An apocalyptic scene

Embers blow from a tree shortly before it fell down near burned cars as strong winds push the Thomas Fire across thousands of hectares near Santa Paula.

A firefighter gets into position to battle the Creek Fire as a house in Los Angeles is engulfed in flames on Tuesday.