Strong winds have been fanning the flames of wildfires throughout California. More than 20 deaths are attributed to the blazes. Fire in the North has devastated the town of Paradise. And, it forced residents to evacuate the city of Chico. Fires in the south threaten the cities of Malibu and Thousand Oaks. Dozens more cities are affected by these fires. CGTN's Phil Lavelle reports from Southern California.

It's from the air that you really get a sense of how desperate things are here. Hell on earth, how residents have described it. The flames.

PETE CHOQUETTE RESTAURANT OWNER "We had to run to the ocean, and then it just blew through here like a tornado."

The heat. The destruction. This is scenic Malibu as nature takes what she wants.

"I was sick. I'm still sick. It's literally unbelievable but it's right in front of my eyes."

More than 33-thousand hectares destroyed by flames ripping through Southern California. That's around 337-thousand square kilometers. At least 170 structures destroyed.

"The only thing I found left was a ceramic teapot I made in high school."

And 57 thousand more still under threat.

DARYL OSBY LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE CHIEF "The brevity and the challenges our firefighters are having under extreme situations. We still have our damage assessment teams that are out trying to get a good number on the number of structures that have been damaged or lost. We still don't have a good number yet. We feel extremely emotional for the people that have lost their homes. Even in my department and other county departments, we have members of our respected departments that have lost homes and were trying to provide support for them as we're for our citizens."

The Woolsey Fire has been raging since last Thursday. This is the big one. Pouring smoke over Los Angeles. Leaving charred ground and smoldering wrecks where multi-million dollar mansions stood just a few days ago. And it's the winds that are making things worse. Firefighters got a brief respite on Saturday night as the Santa Ana gusts calmed. They managed to contain the fire by 10 percent. But it wasn't to last.

PHIL LAVELLE WEST HILLS, CALIFORNIA "In fact, the winds have picked up again significantly in the last few hours. And they're expected to get even stronger over the next few days. They're pushing those flames even closer to more homes. These houses will have all been evacuated now - police, the fire department, have been going door to door, telling people to leave. They don't expect to be able to contain this fire until at least the end of next week."

Northern California also being hit hard. The town of Paradise, lost. And at least 23 dead in Chico - with fears of more.

KORY HONEA BUTTE COUNTY SHERIFF "I know that members of our community who are missing loved ones are anxious and I know that the news of us recovering bodies has to be disconcerting. I will tell you that we are doing everything we possibly can to identify those remains and make contact with the next of kin, so that we can return the remains to the families."