The total death toll from wildfires across California has risen to 44, after 13 more people were found dead in what is now the deadliest single fire in state history.
The blaze dubbed Camp Fire in northern California has incinerated more than 7,100 homes and businesses - particularly in the town of Paradise. Its death toll exceeds that of the Griffith Park Fire in 1933, the deadliest wildfire on record in California. At least 228 people were still missing, according to Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.
Speaking on CNN, Mr Honea said that while he holds out hope that many people listed as missing will turn up safe, “given what we’ve dealt with so far with casualties as a result of this fire, I have concerns that it [the death toll] will rise”.
:: Follow the latest updates on the California wildfires
Late on Monday, President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for the state, which will allow it to access more federal funds. Mr Trump said he "wanted to respond quickly", although calls for the declaration have been coming for a number of days.
Hundreds of thousands of evacuation orders have been issued, while countless residents have shared images online of missing loved ones, begging people to help them find displaced relatives and friends.
In southern California, the Woolsey Fire has scorched at least 91,000 acres and destroyed 370 structures. At least two people have died in that fire, and more than 57,000 buildings still at risk.
You can find our latest report on the California wildfires here. For more on how the events of Monday unfolded, please see our now-closed live blog, below.
Here are the latest updates on the deadly wildfires raging in California, which have killed at least 31 people.
Wildfires continue to rage on both ends of the state, with gusty winds expected overnight which will challenge firefighters.
The death toll appeared certain to rise.
Spectrum internet goes down after California wildfires
Company provides internet to millions of people across the countryMiley Cyrus has said she was "devastated" after her home was burned down in the wildfires raging across California.
The 25-year-old US pop star, who is engaged to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, revealed her property was one of thousands destroyed, but said her animals and "love of my life" made it out safely.
She tweeted: "Completely devestated (sic) by the fires affecting my community. I am one of the lucky ones. My animals and LOVE OF MY LIFE made it out safely & that's all that matters right now.
"My house no longer stands but the memories shared with family & friends stand strong. I am grateful for all I have left.
"Sending so much love and gratitude to the firefighters and LA country Sheriff's department!"
In another tweet, Cyrus shared details of how to donate to various bodies involved in the relief effort.
Dozens of celebrities including Kim Kardashian West, Caitlyn Jenner and Lady Gaga were forced to flee their Malibu area homes to escape the fires.
Actor Gerard Butler said on Instagram that his Malibu home was "half-gone".
The Camp Fire 40 miles northwest of Sacramento has burned down more than 6,700 homes and businesses in the town of Paradise, more structures than any other wildfire recorded in California.
The fire had burned more than 111,000 acres and was 25 per cent contained by late Sunday, officials said.
Its death toll of 29 now equals that of the Griffith Park Fire in 1933, the deadliest wildfire on record in California.
In southern California, the Woolsey Fire has scorched at least 85,500 acres and destroyed 177 structures. The blaze was only 15 per cent contained.
At least two people have died in that fire, according to officials from the statewide agency Cal Fire.
The blaze has forced the authorities to issue evacuation orders for a quarter million people in Ventura and Los Angeles counties and beachside communities including the Malibu beach colony.
Trump blamed the California wildfires on 'mismanaged forests' - and got destroyed by experts
Donald Trump has been criticised by firefighters, experts, and celebrities for his 'ill-informed' and 'wrong' response to the devastating wildfires that are currently ravaging the state of California.Celebrities at the People's Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California, on Sunday night, asked for prayers and donations for residents and first responders.
Reality television star Kim Kardashian said: 'It's been a really rough week in our home in Calabasas, Hidden Hills and our neighbors in Thousand Oaks and Malibu."
Actor Melissa McCarthy said: "Please keep the victims, volunteers and firefighters in your thoughts." She also asked people to donate to the Los Angeles fire Department Foundation.
Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke have lost their homes in the California wildfires
The 25-year-old singer revealed her home ‘no longer stands’ but added: 'I'm grateful for all I have left'California's governor, Jerry Brown, has asked Donald Trump to declare a major disaster to bolster the emergency response and help residents recover.
The US president criticised California's government in tweets this weekend, blaming poor forest management for the infernos.
His tweets drew the ire of experts, who criticised Mr Trump for his "ill-informed" and "wrong" response.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Southern California Edison reported to the California Public Utilities Commission that there was an outage on an electrical circuit near where it started as Santa Ana winds blew through the region.
SoCal Edison said the report was submitted out of an abundance of caution although there was no indication from fire officials that its equipment may have been involved.
The report said the fire was reported around 2:24pm on Thursday, two minutes after the outage.
A selection of photos from the wildfires shows the sheer ferocity of the blaze.
↵
Satellite images reveal devastating scale of California wildfires
Death toll reaches 31, with 228 people still missingRescue crews have stepped up their search for bodies and missing people.
Ten search teams were working in Paradise — a town of 27,000 that was largely incinerated last week — and in surrounding communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Authorities called in a DNA lab and teams of anthropologists to help identify victims.
Across the state, 150,000 remained displaced as more than 8,000 fire crews battled wildfires that have scorched 400 square miles (1,040 square kilometers), with out-of-state crews continuing to arrive.
Firefighters who battled the fire with shovels and bulldozers, flame retardant and hoses expected wind gusts up to 40mph (64kph) overnight on Sunday.
Firefighters have made progress against the blaze, holding containment at 25 per cent on Sunday, but they were bracing for gusty winds predicted into Monday morning that could spark "explosive fire behavior," California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Bill Murphy said.
Fire officials are bracing for potentially more fires in southern California's inland region as high winds and critically dry conditions were expected to persist into next week.
"We are really just in the middle of this protracted weather event, this fire siege," Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott said.
He said officials were moving resources and preparing for "the next set of fires" as winds are expected to pick up.
The chief warned that fire conditions will continue until the parched state sees rain. "We are in this for the long haul," Mr Pimlott said.
Drought and warmer weather attributed to climate change, and the building of homes deeper into forests have led to longer and more destructive wildfire seasons in California.
While California officially emerged from a five-year drought last year, much of the northern two-thirds of the state is abnormally dry.
Whipping winds and tinder-dry conditions threaten more areas through the rest of the week, fire officials warned.
Celebrities whose coastal homes were damaged or destroyed in a Southern California wildfire or were forced to flee from the flames expressed sympathy and solidarity with less-famous people hurt worse by the state's deadly blazes, and gave their gratitude to firefighters who kept them safe.
Actor Gerard Butler said on Instagram that his Malibu home was "half-gone," adding he was "inspired as ever by the courage, spirit and sacrifice of firefighters."
Flames also besieged Thousand Oaks, the Southern California city in mourning over the massacre of 12 people in a shooting rampage at a country music bar on Wednesday night.
In Northern California, where more than 6,700 buildings have been destroyed, the scope of the devastation was beginning to set in even as the blaze raged on.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said the county consulted teams of anthropologists because, in some cases, investigators have been able to recover only bones and bone fragments.
In some neighborhoods "it's very difficult to determine whether or not there may be human remains there," Mr Honea said.
Public safety officials have toured the Paradise area to begin discussing the recovery process. Much of what makes the city function is gone.
"Paradise was literally wiped off the map," said Tim Aboudara, a representative for International Association of Fire Fighters.
He said at least 36 firefighters lost their own homes, most in the Paradise area.
"Anytime you're a firefighter and your town burns down, there's a lot of feelings and a lot of guilt and a lot of concern about both what happened and what the future looks like," he said.
"Every story that we've heard coming through has been that way, like 'I wish I could have done more, What's going to happen to our community, Where are my kids going to go to school?"'
Here is some dramatic footage of Malibu resident's driving through the Woolsey Fire as they flee their home.
Here is a graphic showing the extent of the fires:
The New York Times just reported the following story on how roadways have become a dangerous pathway to escape from California's deadly reoccurring wildfires that have seemingly increased in size and scope.
Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load
