Firefighters working to contain large blaze in northern California

A total of 132 structures were destroyed or damaged, fire officials said on Sunday, though it was not clear whether they were homes, businesses, or other buildings.

A boat is seen on a road in front of a burned vehicle in the Lincoln Heights neighbourhood during the Mill Fire in Weed (Stephen Lam/AP)

About 1,000 people in the rural northern California community of Weed were still being kept from their homes as firefighters worked to contain a blaze that had sparked out of control at the start of the holiday weekend.

Power outages, smoky skies and uncertainty about what the day would bring left a feeling of emptiness around the town the morning after evacuation orders were lifted for thousands of other residents.