U.S. 'Like a freight train': California wildfire guts 18 homes ******************************************************************** Los Angeles Times 3 hours ago Sign in to like Reblog on Tumblr Tweet Flames raced down a steep hillside "like a freight train," leaving smoldering remains of homes and forcing thousands to flee the wildfire churning through tinder-dry canyons in Southern California, authorities said Sunday. The fire that has destroyed at least 18 homes in northern Los Angeles County gained ferocious new power two days after it broke out, sending so much smoke in the air that planes making drops on it had to be grounded for part of the afternoon. "For this time of year, it's the most extreme fire behavior I've seen in my 32-year career," County fire Chief Daryl Osby said. About 300 miles up the coast, crews were battling another fire spanning more than 16 square miles and forcing ...