DUBAI (Reuters) - Severe winds and droughts of the so-called "Devil's Winds" began to blow up Sunday in southern California, ravaged by forest fires, causing at least 25 deaths so far, sparking flames, officials said.
"We're going to see winds of up to 40 mph with 60 to 70 mph," said meteorologist Mark Chinnard of the Weather Forecasting Center at College Park, Maryland.
The winds of Santa Ana or "the winds of the devil" are blowing in the Los Angeles area, where the Walsi fire has been raging since Thursday in Ventura province, killing at least two people.
Chinnard said the air masses blowing through the Western Sahara toward the coast would come in strong winds until Tuesday. "It has only bad news," he said.
Winds of up to 40 mph are expected to hit the slopes of the Sierra Nevada hills of northern California near Sacramento, caused by the Campfire fire that killed at least 23 people.
The Camp Fire Fire brought more than 6,700 homes and shops in Paradise, and the high and rising death toll makes it one of the worst forest fires.
Police said many bodies found last week were in or near burning cars.
Fire broke into Paradise quickly forcing many to leave their cars and survive through the only road in the mountainous town.
There were reports that 35 people were missing and three firefighters were injured, and it was not immediately clear whether any of the dead had been found.
By Saturday evening, the Camp Fire had hit more than 100,000 acres on the edge of the national forest of Plumas, and firefighters were able to set up lines to contain about 20 percent of the fire.
About 800 kilometers to the south, the Woolzi fire raged on the slopes over Malibu overnight, having doubled from Friday night to Sunday, threatening thousands of homes after mandatory evacuation orders for a quarter of a million people in the city and neighborhoods in my district Los Angeles and Ventura.
Officials said the fire destroyed at least 177 houses and other facilities while the damaged buildings were not yet complete. The fire hit more than 83,000 acres by Saturday evening.
"Firefighters are facing some of the harsh conditions they have never seen before in their lives," said Darrell Osby, a Los Angeles County fire chief.
"We can stop the continuing devastation in California by managing suitable forests," wrote Donald Trump, president of the United States, on Sunday morning during a visit to France.
