Steven Snyder stood by his bedroom window, gazing out as his neighborhood burned. Waves of red and orange flames and plumes of black smoke swallowed everything in sight — yet, remarkably, his house stood unscathed.

Powerful winds in California on Wednesday 6 fueled fast-moving wildfires, leading to destroyed homes and hundreds of residents fleeing the affected areas.

Weather conditions triggered red flag warnings Tuesday in the Northeast and firefighters in California continued to battle a large wildfire that has burned over 20,000 acres. Much of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are under a red flag warning Tuesday because of dry and windy conditions.