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Hundreds of California homes evacuated in brush fire threat
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A wind-driven brush fire raging northwest of Los Angeles prompted the evacuation of hundreds of homes and a university campus on Thursday as flames engulfed several recreational vehicles and crept toward housing subdivisions.
A second, smaller blaze some 80 miles to the east destroyed two homes and damaged two others before firefighters managed to quickly halt its spread.
The larger fire erupted at about 6:30 a.m. local time beside the U.S. 101 freeway and consumed roughly 2,000 acres of dry, dense chaparral near the communities of Camarillo and Newbury Park, Ventura County fire department officials said.
Department spokesman Bill Nash said no injuries were reported.
But live footage broadcast by Los Angeles television station KTLA showed heavy smoke over the area and flames and engulfing several recreational vehicles parked near the evacuation zone.
An entire residential subdivision called Dos Vientos, encompassing hundreds of homes, was placed under mandatory evacuation orders, Nash said.
Evacuations were also ordered for the California State University at Channel Islands campus, according to a bulletin posted on the fire department website.
More than 200 firefighters were dispatched to battle the blaze, along with several helicopters and planes equipped to drop water and fire retardant chemicals from the air.
A second, separate blaze east of Los Angeles in Riverside County erupted on vegetation of a roadway center divider and quickly swept across 5 acres of brush, destroying two nearby homes before firefighters managed to halt the advancing flames.
Within three hours, the blaze was reported 50 percent contained. In addition to the two homes lost, the fire destroyed five outbuildings, 10 vehicles and a parked boat, Riverside County fire spokesman Mark Annas said.
Two more homes were damaged and an elementary school and gasoline service station were evacuated, but there were no known injuries, he said.
The latest brush fires come at the start of what is expected to be a potentially devastating fire season in Southern California.
A red-flag warning, declaring what the National Weather Service calls "extreme fire danger," was posted for much of Southern California on Wednesday as high winds swept the region, accompanied by soaring temperatures and low humidity.
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A wind-driven brush fire raging northwest of Los Angeles prompted the evacuation of hundreds of homes and a university campus on Thursday as flames engulfed several recreational vehicles and crept toward housing subdivisions.
A second, smaller blaze some 80 miles to the east destroyed two homes and damaged two others before firefighters managed to quickly halt its spread.
The larger fire erupted at about 6:30 a.m. local time beside the U.S. 101 freeway and consumed roughly 2,000 acres of dry, dense chaparral near the communities of Camarillo and Newbury Park, Ventura County fire department officials said.
Department spokesman Bill Nash said no injuries were reported.
But live footage broadcast by Los Angeles television station KTLA showed heavy smoke over the area and flames and engulfing several recreational vehicles parked near the evacuation zone.
An entire residential subdivision called Dos Vientos, encompassing hundreds of homes, was placed under mandatory evacuation orders, Nash said.
Evacuations were also ordered for the California State University at Channel Islands campus, according to a bulletin posted on the fire department website.
More than 200 firefighters were dispatched to battle the blaze, along with several helicopters and planes equipped to drop water and fire retardant chemicals from the air.
A second, separate blaze east of Los Angeles in Riverside County erupted on vegetation of a roadway center divider and quickly swept across 5 acres of brush, destroying two nearby homes before firefighters managed to halt the advancing flames.
Within three hours, the blaze was reported 50 percent contained. In addition to the two homes lost, the fire destroyed five outbuildings, 10 vehicles and a parked boat, Riverside County fire spokesman Mark Annas said.
Two more homes were damaged and an elementary school and gasoline service station were evacuated, but there were no known injuries, he said.
The latest brush fires come at the start of what is expected to be a potentially devastating fire season in Southern California.
A red-flag warning, declaring what the National Weather Service calls "extreme fire danger," was posted for much of Southern California on Wednesday as high winds swept the region, accompanied by soaring temperatures and low humidity.
