California fires 'worse than a horror movie'

With wind-driven flames threatening the densely populated areas near Los Angeles, firefighters dug today for another brutal day battling one of the most destructive and deadly wildfire outbreaks in California history.

At least 17 deaths were blamed on the fires, 15 in southern California and two in Mexico, as at least six separate blazes were scattered along an arc from the suburbs north-west of Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico, about 60 miles south of the border.