Santa Ana winds fanning wildfire flames
LOS ANGELES: A fresh spate of Southern California wildfires roared to life yesterday, destroying homes and forcing evacuations, as the region faced a second day of explosively fierce Santa Ana winds that have fanned flames, displacing thousands of residents.
The most destructive among several new winddriven blazes in the region erupted hours before dawn on the rugged slopes of the San Bernardino National Forest above the city of San Bernardino, barrelling downhill into the north end of town.
The socalled Hillside fire quickly devoured more than 80ha of dry scrub and destroyed or damaged at least six homes before firefighters managed to contain the flames’ perimeter.
As of early afternoon, crews had managed to carve containment lines around 50% of the fire’s perimeter. No injuries were reported, but evacuation orders remained in effect for nearly 500 homes, displacing about 1300 residents.
The cause of the blaze was still under investigation. The San Bernardino County Fire Department said on Twitter that no power lines were located where it had originated.
The latest recurrence of
Santa Ana winds, howling into the region through mountain passes from the desert, coincided with extremely low relative humidity and a drought that has left vegetation tinderdry across the region. Conditions prompted the National Weather Service to create a new alert level, issuing an ‘‘extreme redflag warning’’ for fire danger in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. — Reuters