CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE FORCES EVACUATION, CAUSES POWER OUTAGES

California emergency officials on Thursday ordered hundreds of people to evacuate a historic wine country town north of San Francisco, and nearly 200,000 were without power in the state, as a growing wildfire spread in Sonoma County.

Driven by strong winds, the Kincade fire engulfed more than 4,000 hectares by Thursday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The Sonoma County Sheriff issued a mandatory evacuation order for the town of Geyserville, home to almost 900 people.

An evacuation warning for the town of northern Healdsburg remained in place.

As crews battled the fast-burning fire, footage and images posted on social media by local reporters showed the smouldering wreckage of destroyed homes.

Large parts of California were under red-flag alerts this week, suggesting a heightened risk of fire, amid high temperatures and powerful winds, officials said.

JOSH EDELSON / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES A home burns at a vineyard near Geyserville, Calif., on Thursday. The fast-moving Kincade wildfire engulfed more than 4,000 hectares of land by Thursday and has left nearly 200,000 people in the area without power.