"Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances," Justice Juan Merchan said shortly before announcing the sentence, calling it a "truly extraordinary case".

The scene was truly apocalyptic - a bright red sun cast an orange glow over us, and ash rained down like snow.

“I don’t know if he truly believed he could, but I know he tried.”

Hilton, the hotel heiress and reality TV star, shared a video of the remains of her property on social media and said "the heartbreak is truly indescribable".

“Now all the fire and smoke alarms are going off on our iPhones. It’s truly heartbreaking.”