100,000 flee amid wind-driven wildfire

LOS ANGELES - A fierce, winddriven wildfire swept through foothills and canyons along the northern edge of Los Angeles on Friday, engulfing homes, closing roads and devouring acres of dry brush and chaparral as 100,000 residents were forced to flee.

At least one death was attributed to the fire, a man who authorities said suffered a heart attack while trying to battle encroaching flames on his property rather than heeding evacuation orders.

The blaze, dubbed the Saddleridge fire, began on Thursday night and had raced across some 7500 acres by midday Friday, growing into the largest and most ferocious among a spate of wildfires across Southern California.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared localised emergencies on Friday for the counties of Los Angeles and Riverside, which was dealing with a smaller blaze than the one in Los Angeles.

Water-dropping helicopters and airplane tankers loaded with flame retardant fought the Los Angeles blaze from the air as ground crews battled at close range with hand tools and bulldozers, while firefighters lugging hoses from house to house scrambled to protect threatened neighborhoods.

Their efforts were paying off. Although 31 structures were damaged or destroyed, fire officials said their crews managed to save thousands of dwellings while carving containment lines around 13 per cent of the fire’s perimetre.

US representative Brad Sherman told Reuters he was among residents who fled as flames approached.