- Two wildfires continued to burn in California Tuesday night - southern Woolsey Fire and northern Camp Fire
- Woolsey flared up Tuesday morning, fanned by hurricane-strength winds that will continue into Wednesday
- Blaze has now destroyed an area the size of Denver and killed two people, as 50 acres burned in 30 minutes
- Camp Fire raged on in the north of the state, as the death toll rose to 48 with more remains found in Paradise
- Satellite images show how the town of Magalia, one over from Paradise, was consumed by flames on Friday
Two deadly wildfires continued to burn largely out of control in California on Wednesday - driven by tinder-dry conditions and hurricane-strength winds.
In the south, the Woolsey Fire ripped through 50 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains in 30 minutes on Tuesday morning as gusts of 85mph caused a flare-up, even as thousands of people were allowed back to their homes.
Meanwhile in the north, six more bodies were found among the ashes of Paradise which was completely incinerated by the fire, bringing the death toll from that fire alone to 48 - the deadliest in state history.
The state-wide death toll now stands at 50, including two people who died in the Woolsey Fire, though more than 200 people are still unaccounted for.
The Woolsey Fire was 40 per cent contained at 8pm Tuesday having already torched an area the size of Denver, with high winds expected to continue into Wednesday before dying away.
The Camp Fire was just 35 per cent contained, as infrared satellite images revealed some of the destruction the fire has caused and the ferocity of the flames firefighters are battling.
Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott told Fox News that there is 'no end in sight' for the dry weather which has turned California into a tinder-box.
Authorities believe the flare-up was caused by what are known as 'red flag conditions', in which low humidity and high winds combine to make the perfect conditions for a wildland fire combustion.
'It's critically dry with incredibly strong winds, so that really puts us back into a day where we could see rapid fire spread as a result of any new fires or flare-ups,' Cal Fire Division Chief Chris Anthony told the Los Angeles Times.
Thankfully firefighters were already in a nearby area and quickly responded to the newest blaze.
Dangerous high winds of 25 to 40mph are expected to last until Wednesday afternoon. A red flag warning will remain in effect in the region until 5pm on Wednesday.
'We are not out of the woods yet,' said Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen. 'We still have incredibly tough conditions ahead of us.'
But officials said that hurricane-force wind gusts - reaching up to 86mph in San Diego County - brought new and dangerous flare-ups.
Red flag warnings were also raised in the San Diego area through Wednesday and San Diego Gas & Electric has begun shutting down electricity in fire-prone areas.
Officials said their most recent assessments indicated that the Woolsey Fire tore through 96,000 acres - larger than the size of Denver.
It has destroyed 435 structures - a number that is expected to rise - and 57,000 structures remain under threat.
As of Tuesday morning the blaze was 35 percent contained, with full containment expected Thursday.
It was unclear how many people remained under evacuation orders, though at one point the number hit about 250,000. Authorities were expected to disclose details later Tuesday at a news conference.
The dry, gusty winds were expected to blow through Wednesday, although not quite as furiously as last week.
Winds, coupled with higher average annual temperatures, tinder-dry brush and a lack of rain in recent years, make the 'perfect ingredients' for explosive fire growth around the state, said Chris Anthony, a division chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The fire has burned more than 80 percent of National Parks Service land in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, officials said.
Fire officials lifted evacuation orders early Tuesday in all or parts of about five communities in Ventura and Los Angeles counties - including the star-studded Hidden Hills, Calabasas, and Malibu.
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