scorch

Preliminary findings estimated more than $7 million in agriculture losses from the fire, which scorched avocado, citrus, raspberry and other fields as well as rangeland, said Korinne Bell, Ventura County’s agricultural commissioner.

But the jolly tone gives way to something fiercer and more appropriately epic: a galloping rhythm on the drums, insistent bass and scorching guitar notes.

It was an uncharacteristically cold stretch, considering the scorching week that had come before it for USC.

So far, the fire has scorched more than 14,000 acres and is threatening thousands of homes.

Video footage shared with BBC News by eyewitnesses shows people covered in volcanic ash, rock showers and homes ablaze, as well as the scorched aftermath of the disruption.