Thousands of firefighters battled raging wildfires in California on Saturday that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee the Los Angeles area, as well as outbreaks closer to San Diego. Nearly 700 structures including multi-million dollar mansions have been destroyed by wildfires raging on six different fronts, but despite the intensity of the blazes, authorities have reported only one fatality. Black smoke billowed through the region, gagging residents who ventured outdoors. “I’ve never seen anything like this and I’ve lived here 20 years,” Judy Herman, 76, told AFP. Herman was relieved to find her home in Murrieta, east of Los Angeles, still intact. It was part of the huge evacuation zone forced by the “Liberty” fire — which included many ranches in the area, where rodeos are popular. Meanwhile, since erupting in Ventura county late Monday, the so-called “Thomas” fire has ravaged 143,000 acres. With gusts of up to 60 miles per hour, the turbulent seasonal Santa Ana winds whipped the fire on Friday, spitting embers and creating “extreme fire danger.” A red alert was extended into the weekend due to expected low humidity. Further south in San Diego county the “Lilac” fire was ballooning at a dangerous rate, charring more than 4,000 acres after igniting Thursday morning and triggering a new wave of evacuations as it encroached on the university town of Santa Barbara. The plumes of smoke and flames left at least four people in the area injured from burns or smoke inhalation. Flames also claimed the lives of more than two dozen racehorses after tearing through eight barns at the normally serene San Luis Rey training center, in the town of Bonsall, where some 500 horses were stabled, the California Horse Racing Board said in a statement. “75 per cent of the stables were consumed, the fire was spreading so fast… they couldn’t evacuate all the horses,” fire chief Ross Fowler said. “It’s hard when horses are scared, they don’t comply, they are heavy, they can hurt you,” he added. Published in Daily Times, December 10th 2017.