Nikolas Abele keeps an eye on a hillside for any stray embers during firefighting operations in Carpinteria, California, on Monday, December 11. Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department/AP
Nikolas Abele keeps an eye on a hillside for any stray embers during firefighting operations in Carpinteria, California, on Monday, December 11. Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department/AP
Nikolas Abele keeps an eye on a hillside for any stray embers during firefighting operations in Carpinteria, California, on Monday, December 11. Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department/AP
For four days, tens of thousands of Californians have been forced from their homes – some decorated for the holidays -- as exhausted firefighters heave heavy hoses toward infernos where church spire-like flames tower over trees.
The fires, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds, could burn for days. They leave behind a desert of ash and destruction as testament to one of the state’s worst fire seasons.
Clouds of smoke rise north of downtown Ventura, California, on Sunday, December 10. Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
The Thomas Fire advances toward seaside communities in Carpinteria on Sunday, December 10. David McNew/Getty Images
Firefighter Simon Garcia hugs a woman who arrived to find her house was intact in Fallbrook, California, on Friday, December 8. Gregory Bull/AP
Firefighters light a backfire while trying to keep a wildfire from jumping Santa Ana Road near Ventura on Saturday, December 9. Noah Berger/AP
Firefighter Malachi Anderson uses an axe to scrape out the still burning part of a tree as he and fellow crew members work in Bonsall, California, on Friday, December 8. Hayne Palmour IV/San Diego Union-Tribune/ZUMA
Casey Rodriquez helps a friend move belongings on Friday, December 8, after the Thomas Fire destroyed most of this apartment building in Ventura. Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
A helicopter, seen through the carcass of a burned home in Bonsall, drops water on the Lilac Fire on Friday, December 8. Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Flames consume a house in Ojai, California, on Thursday, December 7. Noah Berger/AP
Dick Marsala looks through debris from his destroyed home in Bonsall on Friday, December 8. Gregory Bull/AP
Horses flee from the San Luis Rey Downs horse-training facility as the Lilac Fire sweeps through San Diego County on Thursday, December 7. Paul Sisson/The San Diego Union-Tribune/AP
Firefighters monitor a section of the Thomas Fire in Ventura on Thursday, December 7. Mario Tama/Getty Images
A firefighter battles a blaze in Ojai on Thursday, December 7. Noah Berger/AP
Smoke from the massive fires was visible from the International Space Station on Thursday, December 7. NASA/Planet Pix/ZUMA
Firefighters water down a beach house property in Ventura on Thursday, December 7. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo
Fires surround a hilltop mansion in the Bel-Air district of Los Angeles on Wednesday, December 6. Jae C. Hong/AP
Firefighters douse flames inside a Los Angeles home on Wednesday, December 6. Ringo Chiu/ZUMA
Flames from the Skirball Fire engulf the bedroom of a home in Los Angeles. Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/AP
Jeff Lipscomb tries to assure daughter Rachel, 11, that everything will be OK as they survey their Ventura home on Wednesday, December 6. Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
A Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter hovers over the Skirball Fire in Los Angeles on Wednesday, December 6. John Cetrino/EPA
Firefighters remove a painting from a house while trying to put out a blaze in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles on Wednesday, December 6. John Cetrino/EPA
John Bain and Brandon Baker take cover from embers as they try to help stop a fire from burning a home in Ventura, California, on Tuesday, December 5. Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Judy Hofmann-Sanders can only watch as her Los Angeles home is consumed by the Creek Fire on Tuesday, December 5. Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times
A house is engulfed in flames as the Creek Fire burns in Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 5. Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto/ZUMA Press
Carolyn Potter tries to save her house in Casita Springs by throwing dirt on her fence. Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
A firefighter hoses down a home consumed by a wildfire in the Bel-Air district of Los Angeles on December 6. Jae C. Hong/AP
Ventura County firefighter Aaron Cohen catches his breath after fighting to save homes on Tuesday, December 5. "We chased the fire from Santa Paula all the way into Ventura through the night," he said. Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
A news photographer takes pictures in Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 5. Chris Carlson/AP
A firefighter sprays down the charred remains of a Ventura apartment building on Tuesday, December 5. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
Produced by Sarah Tilotta, Lyric Lewin and Ray Sanchez
