More evacuations ordered as California wildfires rage on

The largest Californiawildfire advanced on coastal towns near Santa Barbara on Sunday,stoked by the gusty winds and dry conditions that have fuelleddestructive blazes across the state's southern region.

Authorities ordered residents in parts of Carpinteria andMontecito to evacuate as the so-called Thomas Fire edgedcloser to the city of Santa Barbara, about 152kilometres northwestof Los Angeles. The blaze has already blackened 62,726 hectaresand consumed hundreds of structures.

Some half-dozen fires have raged across California sinceearly last week.

• Firefighters race to contain California wildfires

At least one home in Carpinteria burned down on Sunday, theSanta Barbara County Fire Department said. The fire was only 15per cent contained as of the morning, according to theCalifornia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Top wind speeds were forecast to increase to 89 km/hon Sunday from 64 km/honSaturday, according to the National Weather Service. The gusts,coupled with the rugged mountain terrain above Santa Barbara andVentura counties, have hampered firefighting efforts,authorities said.

The fireshave forced theevacuation of some 200,000 people and destroyed nearly 800structures in total. A 70-year-old woman died Wednesday in a car accidentas she attempted to flee the flames in Ventura County.

'What the heck do I do?'

At the Ventura County Fairgrounds, evacuees slept inmakeshift beds while rescued horses were sheltered in stables. Asteady stream of rescue workers streamed in and out of theentrance early on Sunday.

Peggy Scissons, 78, arrived at the shelter with her dog lastWednesday, after residents of her mobile home park were forcedto leave. She has not yet found out whether her home isstanding.

"I don't know what's gonna happen next or whether I'll beable to go home," she said. "It would be one thing if I were 40or 50, but I'm 78. What the heck do I do?"

James Brown, 57, who retired from Washington state'sforestry service and has lived in Ventura for a year, was forcedto leave his house along with his wife last week because bothhave breathing problems.

"It brought back old memories, fighting forest fires," saidBrown, who is in a wheelchair. "We knew a fire was coming, butwe didn't know it would be this bad."

The Thomas Fire, the largest of the infernos, had leftnearly 90,000 customers without power as of early Sunday morning, Southern California Edison said on its website.

Thousands offirefighters battling the fires that have burnedover the past week gained some ground on Saturday.

Fight to contain fires

Both the Creek and Rye fires in Los Angeles County were 90per cent contained by Sunday morning, officials said, while theSkirball Fire in Los Angeles was 75 per cent contained.

North of San Diego, the 1,659-hectareLilacFire was 60 per cent contained by Sunday.

• See the devastation caused by the California wildfires
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A brush fire broke out Saturday night in the city ofMonrovia in Los Angeles County, prompting temporary evacuations, the U.S. Forest Service said on Twitter.

A group of boy scouts camping in the area were among thoseevacuated, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Crews knocked down the 1.2-hectareblaze and nostructures were reported damaged, the city of Monrovia said onits website.

California Gov.Jerry Brown issued emergencyproclamations last week for Santa Barbara, San Diego, Los Angeles and Ventura counties, freeing up additional resources tofight the infernos.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a federal proclamation thatenabled agencies to co-ordinate relief efforts.