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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Powerful gusts pushed flames from a wildfire through the canyons of Southern California early Thursday, one of many fires that burned near homes and forced residents to flee to the middle of the high fire risk for most of the hundreds of thousands.
The largest fire, in Orange County’s Silverado Canyon, began Wednesday night as a house fire that quickly spread to dry tinder brush as gusts reached 113 km / h.
It exploded in size throughout the night and by sunrise a huge plume of smoke was visible for miles.
Firefighters struggled over steep terrain amid unpredictable Santa Ana winds. Orange County Fire Authority captain Thanh Nguyen said crews were scrambling to stay ahead of the blazes that blew up on main roads.
“We’ve also seen the wind change drastically, so that’s what we tell all of our staff to know – this ever-changing wind,” he told CBS LA TV.
Evacuations have been ordered for several canyon and foothill neighborhoods near the town of Lake Forest and residents of other nearby areas have been told they must be prepared to exit.
It was not immediately clear how many people were affected or whether houses were damaged in the 16-square-kilometer conflagration. There was no containment of the fire.
Many studies have linked the largest wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil, and gas. Scientists said climate change has made California much drier, which means trees and other plants are more flammable.
The Bond Fire, about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles, is burning near the same area of the October Silverado Fire, which forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
Ryan Kayrell fled the October fire with his wife and two young children. But the family stayed at home in the community of Foothill Ranch on Thursday morning despite being in a very smoky mandatory evacuation area. The family’s bags were wrapped as they waited to see which direction the flames were moving, Kayrell said,
“Much of the hill just behind my house is already on fire, so hopefully that will be a buffer. Which does not mean that there is no danger. The problem is that embers could fly into the neighborhood, ”Kayrell said. “If there are fire trucks on our street, we go.
The new fire broke out when Southern California utilities cut power to tens of thousands of customers to avoid the threat of wildfires during famed Santa Anas.
Red flag warnings of extreme fire danger until Saturday were in place due to low humidity, dry brush and winds, which sweep inland, the National Weather Service said.
Utilities in the populated area on Wednesday began cutting electricity to customers as a precaution to prevent gusts from blowing tree branches into electrical equipment or knocking down power lines, which sparked fires in devastating forest in recent years.
Southern California Edison cut power to about 15,000 homes and businesses by Wednesday night and planned to shut down lines serving about 271,000 customers in seven counties throughout the windy period, which could last. until Saturday.
It was one of the biggest precautionary failures in the public service.
San Diego Gas & Electric disconnected about 24,000 customers Wednesday night with 73,000 more in the sights.
“We recognize that the loss of power is disruptive, and we sincerely thank our customers for their patience and understanding,” the utility said.
Evacuations were ordered when a small forest fire broke out near the rural community of Nuevo in Riverside County, about 80 kilometers east of the Bond fire.
And to the south, a small fire in San Diego County threatened about 200 homes and caused evacuations before firefighters managed to contain 50%. At least one structure was destroyed and six more damaged, according to 10 News San Diego.
California has already had its worst year of wildfires. More than 6,500 square miles (16,835 square kilometers) were burned, a total greater than the combined area of Connecticut and Rhode Island. At least 31 people were killed and 10,500 houses and other structures damaged or destroyed.
The latest fire threat comes as much of California plunges deeper into drought. Almost all of northern California is in the grip of severe or extreme drought, while almost all of southern California is unusually dry or worse.
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Associated Press reporter Amy Taxin contributed from Orange County, California.
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