Ground Zero California: Scenes of devastation as wildfires threaten to plunge LA into darkness

Wildfires threatening Los Angeles could plunge the entire city and its 3.8million inhabitants into darkness.A massive blaze in the heavily populated San Fernando Valley broke out on Thursday night, destroying dozens of properties and threatening vital power supply lines.The wind-whipped firestorm swept through bone-dry canyons and hillsides.Hot winds and record temperatures hit in the 90s Fahrenheit(30s Celsius)Fanned by 70mph winds, the fire has spread over 2,600 acres, forcing 10,000 residents to evacuate.It has scorched more than 20,000 acres (8,000 hectares) since Thursday night in foothills north of Los Angeles, in Orange County canyons to the south-east,and in celebrity-heavy Montecito near Santa Barbara, to the north.Mobile homes, apartments and multimillion dollar mansions were among the estimated 1,000 homes destroyed. 'This has been a very tough few days for the people of Southern California,' Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said after touring damage.Officials began lifting evacuation orders yesterday for more than half the estimated 50,000 people who fled at the height of the fires but fire-fighters said it would take days to extinguish all the blazes.LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has declared a state of emergency.He said: 'This is the worst fire we've had for more than a dozen years. People should prepare for rolling blackouts throughout the city.'As these pictures show, the blaze has left some of the most sought-after addresses in southern California looking like the aftermath of a nuclear attack. Yesterday, West Wing actor Rob Lowe, whose family was among the residents evacuated in the face of 200ft-high flames, described the bushfire transformation of the wealthy neighbourhood of Montecito as ‘like something from Armageddon’.Mr Lowe told how he and his son were forced to flee their home after a phone call from his wife telling them to 'Get out'.
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As in the days of Noah...