Thousands of firefighters were battling one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history Monday as it crept relentlessly up the Pacific coast and forced new evacuations. As a wildfire near Los Angeles was brought under control, fire crews were being redeployed to battle the Thomas Fire northwest of America’s second-largest city. Fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters were assisting nearly 6,400 firefighters trying to keep the Thomas Fire away from beachfront towns south of the historic city of Santa Barbara, the California Fire Department (Cal Fire) said.
