CALIFORNIA wildfire victims have been pictured breaking down in tears as they return to their decimated homes having “lost everything”.

Wind-driven wildfires continued to tear across tinder-dry California today, with fast-moving winds expected to make the flames spread further.

Thousands have so far been evacuated, with hundreds of firefighters battling around the clock to save people’s homes.

But for some it is too late, with residents returning to find their houses had been reduced to ash and rubble.

Painter Wade Hoefer, 71, returned to his home at the Soda Rock Winery on Tuesday to find his neighbourhood obliterated by the Kincade Fire.

He told IBT: “It’s just ashes. I lost my whole life there. All I have is my clothes on my back.”

Recalling how he was forced to flee for his life, Mr Hoefer said: “I heard the wind, I saw the flames. It was coming right here.

“The firemen arrived as I left. I just went to the shop nearby, parked and waited.

“When I came back in the morning at 6am it was just embers, like charcoal.”

NARROW ESCAPE

Josh Terry, another local resident, lost his home in the 2015 Valley Fire and defied the mandatory evacuation warnings this time around to try to save his house.

He said: “My dad is angry at me for not leaving.

“We were safe here, I felt. The fire guys did their jobs. They set up shop real quick in this yard here and the wind shifted.

“We're alive and this is where I want to be so I'm happy.”

Elsewhere, in Los Angeles, the Getty Fire broke out near some of the most upmarket neighbourhoods.

A-list celebs like Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger and basketball legend LeBron James were among those forced to flee for their lives.

And a rare "extreme red flag" warning has today been issued ahead of more predicted high winds.

National Weather Service forecaster Marc Chenard said: "I don't know if I've ever seen us use this warning. It's pretty bad."

The Santa Ana winds blowing westward off the desert and mountains into Los Angeles and Orange County are expected to reach sustained speeds of up to 70mph today and tomorrow.

Firefighters got ready to do battle again today after a day of lighter breezes helped them gain ground against the blaze near LA’s Getty Centre museum.

Strike teams and equipment were posted on standby at strategic points throughout the state.

City arson investigators said on Tuesday the Getty Fire was likely to have been caused by a broken tree branch being blown into power lines during high winds on Monday morning.

Electricity remained cut off to roughly half a million homes and businesses in northern and central California on Tuesday as a precaution by the state's largest utility.

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