California wildfires: At least 40 dead as winds spread blaze across state

After six days of carnage, shifting winds have now directed the fires towards northern California’s vineyards and the historic town of Sonoma.

Low humidity has also dried surrounding vegetation, turning large swaths of the countryside into tinderboxes.

Firefighters have seen their progress wiped out in mere hours as thousands continue to flee the natural disaster, which has scorched more than 50,000 acres.

In a crisis meeting in Santa Rosa, Governor Jerry Brown described the disaster as “one of the greatest tragedies that California has ever faced”.

He added: “It’s a horror that no-one could have imagined.”

The 79-year-old governor and US senator Dianne Feinstein, 84, have said the wildfires were the worst of their lifetimes.

At least 5,700 homes and businesses have been destroyed, making the 17 separate blazes the deadliest and most destructive in California’s history.

Approximately 300 people are still missing, although authorities have said they expect to find most of them alive.

Most of the fatalities are thought to have died during the night of October 8 after being taken by surprise by a surge while they were sleeping.

Most of the victims were elderly, but the youngest is believed to be just 14 years old.

More than 10,000 firefighters and police officers have been called to the disaster, while about 100,000 people have been evacuated, including 3,000 from the city of Santa Rosa, which is 50 miles north of San Francisco.

Sonoma County, Yuba County, Mendocino County and Napa County have been the worst-affected areas.