MOORPARK, Calif. (AP) – California was battered by strong winds Wednesday that fueled wildfires that quickly destroyed homes and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate while another fire burned near a multimillion-dollar property along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, forecasters said. warned of the potential for “extreme and life-threatening” blazes.
Northwest of Los Angeles, the Mountain Fire exploded in size and prompted evacuation orders for suburban communities, ranches and agriculture near Santa Paula in southern Ventura County. Thick smoke rose hundreds of feet into the sky, covering the entire neighborhood and limiting visibility for firefighters and evacuees.
At about 9:15 a.m., the fire was reported to be under 250 hectares (100 acres) in size, and by 1:45 p.m. it was more than 35 times larger at more than 14 square miles (36 square kilometers).
Unstable winds caused the fixed-wing aircraft to land in “extremely hazardous” conditions caused by gusts of up to 61 mph (98 kph), weather service meteorologist Bryan Lewis said. He said pilots could encounter turbulence that could bring the plane down, as well as limited visibility from smoke. The water-dropping helicopters are still flying.
Several people were injured and taken to hospitals, the Ventura County Fire Department said, but it was not immediately clear how many were injured. The fire crossed State Route 118 and spread into the Camarillo Heights neighborhood, prompting additional evacuations.
Aerial footage from KTLA-TV shows at least 20 homes burning in several Camarillo neighborhoods as embers are doused from house to house. Other footage captures horses walking alongside evacuation vehicles and golf carts.
Andrew Dowd, a county fire spokesman, said he did not have details on how many structures were damaged.
“We know that some structures are affected,” he told The Associated Press. “It was a very unlucky day.”
Gus Garcia, who owns a ranch south of the fire, said he is waiting to see if conditions change to decide if he needs to evacuate his horses and cattle. At about 12:30 p.m., the animals were still alive and they tried to stop them as others chased away their animals.
Her ranch is surrounded by people with horses and alpacas, and Garcia said her neighbors in the canyon don’t seem panicked.
“The horse community, they’re preparing for this because there’s always a possibility here,” he said.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, in a statement sent to the social platform X, said that several state agencies “are all in close communication to coordinate and support the needs of Ventura County.”
Meanwhile to the south, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews battled a blaze near Malibu’s Broad Beach as authorities closed the popular oceanfront road. Residents were advised to take shelter as planes dropped water on the 50-hectare (20-acre) Broad fire. It’s 15% that is around 12:30 with forward progress stopped. Fire officials said two buildings were on fire.
Tens of thousands of people were out of power across the country as a precaution.
The National Weather Service office for Los Angeles changed its red flag warning to an increased fire danger with the label “extremely hazardous conditions”.
With winds forecast between 50 mph (80 kph) and 100 mph (160 kph) and humidity levels below 8%, parts of Southern California could experience “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior through Thursday, the weather service said. said.
Officials in several counties are urging residents to be vigilant because of fast-spreading fires, power outages and downed trees amid the notorious Santa Ana winds.
“People in the canyon, mountain, and foothill communities should be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice,” the LA County Office of Emergency Management said in X. Some canyon roads were closed as a precaution and fire departments were deploying resources to fire-prone areas. .
To the south in Orange County, fire officials said ash and debris were being kicked up from the Airport Fire, which tore through the area earlier this year due to high winds, but no active fire was reported on Wednesday. Gusts whipped through the coastal town, bringing down tree branches and toppling large trash cans.
Forecasters also issued a red flag warning through Thursday from California’s central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area and into counties to the north. Sustained winds of 30 mph (48 kph) are expected in many areas, with gusts to exceed 55 mph (88 kph) in the mountains, according to the weather service office in San Francisco.
More than 20,000 customers in 17 Northern California counties were without power Wednesday morning after Pacific Gas & Electric shut off power to prevent equipment from catching fire amid dry and windy conditions.
Southern California Edison has shut off power to more than 65,000 customers in Southern California in an effort to prevent wildfires amid high winds. Power outages are expected for more than 250,000 customers because of the risk, the company said on its website.
Utilities in California have begun shutting down equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger after a series of large and deadly wildfires in recent years sparked by power lines and other infrastructure.
The Broad Fire burned in the same area in 2018 as the Woolsey Fire killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes. The fire was caused by Edison’s equipment that ignited the dry grasslands and burned through the Santa Monica Mountains all the way to the coast of Malibu.
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Dazio and Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporters Ryan Pearson in Los Angeles, Amy Taxin in Orange County, California, and Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this report.
