A combination of 60mph wind gusts and tinder dry brush sent flames roaring towards the centre of the city overnight, leaving another 23,000 people facing possible evacuation on Saturday.

"I never thought I'd use these cliche type words, but last night all hell broke loose," Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Andy Dimizio said.

Swept by westerly winds through the Gibraltar Strait from the north Atlantic, the creature carries with it a potentially lethal sting in its trailing tentacles.

Physalia physalis is now set to colonise the Mediterranean waters, posing a painful threat to early summer holidaymakers.

Groenewald-Hagerman, 39, she sneaked into the animals herd and killed the creature with one shot from just 12 yards.

The woman, from Kansas, was inspired to go on the safari after being challenged by a male friend who said women could never draw such a heavy bow.

South Africa prepares to swear in Jacob Zuma as fourth democratic president

Crowds of more than 30,000 are expected to gather at the Union Buildings in the country's capital Pretoria for the ceremony.

They will join 29 heads of state and government who are also due to attend, including Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.