Firefighters battle fierce wildfires across California
>>LOS ANGELES: Firefighters on Friday battled several wildfires raging across California that destroyed homes and forced evacuations, as more than 18 million people were under a red flag warning in the southern part of the state.
Tens of thousands of residents near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, fled their homes as the so-called Tick Fire scorched 4,300 acres and was only 5% contained by Friday afternoon.
The blaze forced the shutdown of all schools in the area as well as a major freeway, creating a traffic nightmare for commuters.
New evacuations in the area were ordered early on Friday as the fire that began the day before continued to spread, driven by so-called Santa Ana winds gusting up to 105 kilometres per hour.
Some 600 firefighters backed by air tankers and helicopters were battling the flames that raced toward densely packed communities and threatened 10,000 structures, officials said.
Six homes were destroyed, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby told a news conference, adding that the number was expected to rise.
At least four other fires have erupted in southern California this week, fuelled by high temperatures above 30C and bone dry conditions.
A red flag warning indicating ripe conditions for wildfire was in effect for more than 18 million people in the southern part of the state until Friday evening.
A number of wildfires are also raging in the northern part of the state. The most serious — the Kincaid Fire — broke out late on Wednesday in the Sonoma wine region.
The National Weather Service warned that although wind speeds were set to decrease late on Friday, they were expected to pick up again on today and tomorrow in parts of the state.
“It looks like another Santa Ana is coming,” meteorologist Eric Boldt told AFP. “Right now, we’re looking at moderate strength winds (Sunday and Monday), nothing like what we are experiencing right now.”
Still, he added, the state remains “critically dry” with little humidity, creating an environment ripe for large and dangerous fire growth.