These eerie images show the devastation left by wildfires raging through northern California, which have left two firefighters dead and destroyed 500 homes, as officials warned another 5,000 properties are still threatened.

On Friday, the evening sun combined with the smoky air to produce a milky glow, which illuminated the shattered remains of houses and the skeletons of thousands of charred trees.

In the communities scorched by the blaze, the air is thick with the smell of smoke and chemicals, as the so-called Carr Fire continues to move through Shasta County like a freight train.

On Saturday morning, some 3,400 firefighters on the ground and in helicopters continued to battle the 125 miles fire as it ripped through the city of Redding, while blazes continued to rage elsewhere in the state.

The fire, which was just three percent contained after igniting six days ago, has been fed by high temperatures and low humidity, which were expected for at least the next week, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott.

‘This fire is a long way from done,’ he said.

Gusty winds reaching 60mph have fanned the flames creating ‘firenadoes’, which are strong enough to flip cars ‘like toys, according to fire service spokesman Scott McLean.

The fire began on Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding.

Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of their lives from the blaze.

In the small northern California community of Keswick, only a handful of homes remain.

The flames so thoroughly ate up homes that it’s difficult to tell how many once stood above the pile of ash and smoking rubble that remains.

Somewhere in there was the home of Shyla and Jason Campbell.

Jason Campbell, a firefighter, was six hours away battling a wildfire burning near Yosemite Valley when the Carr Fire moved in on his home and family.

Shyla Campbell, 32, said it was nearly 2 a.m. Thursday when she got an official alert to evacuate.

‘It’s huge flames, it’s coming up the hill, and everyone’s out and we’re watching it, then it goes down, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh it’s going out,’ ‘ she said. ‘And I’m like, ‘No, it’s going down the mountain and it’s going to come back up the next ridge.’ ‘

She was right.

The family spent the night at a hotel. When Jason Campbell returned from the blaze he was fighting on Friday, he found his own home had gone up in flames, along with an RV and a boat……More Here