(Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer
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More than 10,000 people evacuated due to wildfire near Los Angeles
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Firefighters battle blaze fueled by Santa Ana winds
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California wildfires burn three times more land than last year
(Updated area in paragraph 4, added details on housing losses in paragraph 6) by David Swanson and Kanishka Singh
More than 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate a wildfire northwest of Los Angeles as strong seasonal winds blew flames across ranches and neighborhoods, destroying dozens of homes, officials said. authorities Thursday.
Firefighters and police evacuated residents from nearby Camarillo neighborhoods before homes were set ablaze by embers blown 2 miles (3.2 km) from the fire front, said Capt. Tony McHale of the fire department. of Ventura County.
“It’s like trying to put out a blowtorch with a water gun,” Mr. McHale said of the fire, which started Wednesday in a hillside canyon and then spread toward the west, driven by the Santa Ana winds.
Fueled by abundant grass and brush, with wind gusts reaching 80 mph (130 kph), the blaze had burned more than 20,000 acres (8,094 hectares) as of Thursday evening, according to authorities.
Several civilians were injured and a “significant” number of homes, businesses and other structures were destroyed, McHale said.
The Los Angeles Times reported that more than 90 homes were destroyed. More than 30,000 people live in the potential path of the fire, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
A red flag warning for high winds was in effect until Friday.
Climatologists say warming temperatures have led to wet winters that have allowed California’s coastal chaparral — small trees, shrubs and bushes — to thrive. This summer’s record temperatures have dried out hill slopes, making them prone to wildfires.
The U.S. is having a boom year for wildfires, with 8.1 million acres burned to date, compared to an annual average of about 7 million acres, according to National Interagency Fire Center data. over the entire past decade.
According to Cal Fire data, California’s fires have burned more than three times as much land so far this year as last year, at a time when the state’s fire season was milder.
