Hundreds flee homes as high winds feed wildfires in Southern California

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California was buffeted by strong winds Wednesday, fueling a rapidly advancing wildfire near multimillion-dollar properties along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, while hundreds of residents fled another blaze farther north as forecasters warned of the fire potential. “Extreme and life-threatening” flames.

Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a wildfire near Malibu’s Broad Beach as authorities closed the famous beach road. Residents were asked to shelter in place as planes dropped water on the 40-acre Large Fire area. The fire was 15% contained and fire officials said two structures were burned.

Meanwhile, northwest of Los Angeles, the rapidly expanding Mountain Fire has prompted evacuation orders for several communities in an agricultural area near Santa Paula in southern Ventura County. Video footage from KTLA-TV showed horses running alongside evacuation vehicles and golf carts as people fled the fire.

County fire spokesman Andrew Dowd said he did not have details on how many structures were damaged.

“There are many houses affected by the fire,” he said. “A fast moving fire.”

In a statement posted on social platform X, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said multiple state agencies “are in close communication to coordinate and support needs in Ventura County.”

As a precaution, electricity was cut off to tens of thousands of people across the state.

The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles replaced its red flag warning of increased fire danger with a rare “especially hazardous condition” label.

With winds predicted between 50 mph and 160 mph and humidity levels as low as 8%, parts of Southern California could face conditions ripe for “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior by Thursday, the weather service said.

Officials in many counties have urged residents to be alert for rapidly spreading fires, power outages and fallen trees during the recent wildfires. famous Santa Ana winds.

“Residents living in canyons, mountains and foothills should be ready to evacuate as soon as possible,” the LA County Emergency Management Office said in X. Some canyon roads were closed as a precaution and fire departments deployed resources to areas prone to fires.

The Mountain Fire was mapped around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday at just under 250 acres, and by 11:30 a.m. it was five times larger at over 2.3 square miles.

Weather service meteorologist Bryan Lewis said extreme wind conditions grounded fixed-wing aircraft due to “very dangerous” conditions caused by gusts exceeding 60 mph. Pilots could face limited visibility from the massive smoke cloud, as well as turbulence that could bring down a plane, he said.

The Ventura County Fire Department said several people were injured and taken to hospitals. But it was not immediately clear how they were injured. The fire crossed State Route 118 and spread into the Camarillo Heights neighborhood, prompting additional evacuations.

Fire officials in southern Orange County said ash and debris had been removed from the ground. Airport FireNo active fires were reported on Wednesday, as high winds ravaged the region earlier this year. Winds wreaked havoc on coastal cities, knocking down tree branches and overturning large garbage bins.

Forecasters also issued red flag warnings through Thursday from California’s central coast to the San Francisco Bay Area and counties to the north.

Winds of up to 30 mph are expected in many areas, with possible gusts reaching 55 mph at mountaintops, according to the weather service office in San Francisco.

More than 20,000 customers were without power in 17 Northern California counties Wednesday morning after Pacific Gas & Electric shut off power to prevent its equipment from starting fires in dry and windy conditions.

Southern California Edison also preemptively shut off power to more than 46,000 customers on Wednesday, including more than 12,000 in Los Angeles County. The company’s website stated that more than 200,000 customers were expected to have their electricity cut off due to the risk.

Utilities in California begin shutting down equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger After a series of large and deadly wildfires caused by power lines and other infrastructure in recent years.

The Broad Fire was burning in the same area in 2018. Woolsey Fire killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes. This fire was ignited by Edison equipment that burned dry grassland and burned across the Santa Monica Mountains to the Malibu coast.