Thousands of people flee their homes as Bond Fire spreads across Southern California

Panic swept through Silverado Canyon as thousands of residents rushed to escape an uncontrollable forest fire. Some who fled took their ranchers with them.

Strong winds pushed the flames of the Bond Fire in all directions, scorching an area of ​​more than 3,000 football fields overnight. The flames reached 50 to 60 feet high, swept away by dry vegetation and wind gusts of up to 70 mph.

The blaze was started by a blaze in a house Wednesday night, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. The fire quickly spread through the brush and then exploded into a wildfire, CBS Los Angeles reported. The house fire is under investigation.

About 500 firefighters are battling the flames in what has been a historic forest fire season for the state of California. Over 4 million acres have burned so far. Two firefighters were hospitalized with injuries Thursday afternoon, CBS LA reported. The extent of the injuries is unknown.

At one point, the strong winds forced the crews to stop parachuting. The fire was zero percent contained Thursday afternoon.

Doug Sweney has been through many fires, but none like this one. “After being here for 30 years, I’ve seen a bit of it, but it’s definitely the most that it’s come down the hill,” Sweney said.

Some residents told CBS LA that because the power had been cut as a precaution against downed power lines, they had little or no cell phone service and had received no alerts from evacuation.

“I heard screams, like ‘fire, fire, it’s right here so we have to go now,’” said resident Jerry van Wolfgang. “I looked out the window and it was already so big.”

Officials said the red flag warnings continued until Saturday.