Wildfires

Wildfires - California

The Thomas Fire ripped through more than 440 square miles of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, killing two people, destroying more than 1,000 structures and damaging 280 more. It is now 100 percent contained but has yet to be declared fully extinguished after burning for nearly 40 days.

The fire, sparked Dec. 4, was fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions, defying the efforts of crews in the air and on the ground, jumping the 101 Freeway and pushing relentlessly day by day until it looped back on itself in a massive rough-edged ring, with the resort town of Ojai in the middle.

It devastated several foothill and seaside communities and stripped vegetation vital to the integrity of the hillsides, leaving wide swaths below vulnerable to the mudslides that would ultimately hit earlier this week in the season's first heavy rainstorm.

Wildfires – New Caledonia

Dozens of firefighters in the south of New Caledonia are trying to contain bushfires which have destroyed more than 1,000 hectares of vegetation. The area around Mont-Dore has reportedly had no rain for five months, with winds fanning the blazes. A farm with all its equipment has been burned down while dozens of residential houses have been threatened by the flames, prompting evacuations and road closures. Earlier this season, about 13,000 hectares were destroyed in bushfires.