Some 50,000 people were ordered to flee their homes north of Los Angeles on Thursday as a fast-moving wildfire driven by high winds erupted and raged out of control.
Tick Fire near Santa Clarita, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, broke out in the early afternoon and quickly consumed 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares), fire officials said.
The blaze burned several homes and structures and forced the closure of a major highway and a number of roads, as some 500 firefighters backed by air tankers and helicopters battled the flames.
There were no immediate reports of injury.
“We are urging everybody to evacuate at this time,” a spokesman for the fire department said.
Meanwhile, about 2,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as a wildfire rages through California’s wine country.
The Kincade fire has engulfed 10,000 acres of land in Sonoma County and is not yet contained, the state’s fire protection department says.
It is being driven by powerful winds and is moving south, a California fire spokeswoman said.
California is still recovering from wildfires last year that killed about 100 people.
The fire is moving some 75 miles (120km) north of San Francisco.
The fire erupted as much of the state was under a red flag warning because of gusty winds, high temperatures and low humidity which make for perfect conditions for wildfires.
