More than 4,000 people have been forced to flee their homes to escape a wildfire scorching land around 100 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The blaze was first reported just before 12.45pm local time on Monday and within hours it had grown in size to cover an area of around two square miles, officials said.
Fire crews were photographed battling the inferno into the night.
Three buildings were destroyed and six others damaged in Aguanga, Riverside County.