New wildfire in Southern California explodes in size, burning multiple homes
By Eduardo Cuevas and Meteorologist Tyler Ory
(CNN) — A fast-moving wildfire in Southern California quickly consumed hundreds of acres and burned multiple homes after sparking in Orange County Friday, county officials said.
The Norte Fire began around noon Friday and has quickly grown to 465 acres, the Orange County Fire Authority said. It’s one of several fires that have broken out since Thursday amid fierce Santa Ana winds affecting Southern California.
Aerial footage from CNN affiliate KCBS showed multiple houses burning Friday afternoon. Four homes in San Juan Capistrano have been impacted by the fire as it continues to grow, fire officials said in a social media post. Officials told people to avoid the area.
Five zones in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano were under evacuation orders while surrounding areas had evacuation warnings in effect. Evacuation shelters have been opened at community centers in both San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, Orange County fire officials said.
Orange County sheriff’s deputies were going door to door in areas under evacuation order telling people to leave for their safety, Sgt. Lizbeth Gwisdalla, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department, told CNN.
Ten schools were dismissed early “out of an abundance of caution” and sports and after-school programs were canceled, Capistrano Unified School District announced.
Wind gusts in the area are reaching 25 mph. Winds are expected to remain elevated until this evening, when they could begin to die down in areas closer to the coast beginning around 7 p.m. local time. The Santa Ana winds peak Friday but will remain elevated through Saturday, and then diminishing over the weekend.
Several fires have broken out since Santa Ana winds began Thursday, forcing evacuations in other areas of Southern California.
In Malibu, more than 7,000 structures were in areas under evacuation orders or warnings on Friday because of the Bryson Fire, which has burned roughly 150 acres and is just 17% contained since starting Thursday evening, a Los Angeles County Fire spokesperson told CNN, estimating the number of people under evacuation order to be in the hundreds.
Crews made “great progress” against the fire overnight, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a news conference Friday morning.
At least one firefighter had “minor injuries” and was taken to the hospital, he said. The chief did not provide additional details except to say, “They’ve been on the line all night, so minor injuries are expected.”
The fire is still threatening more than 100 structures in the area, but no damages have been reported. “But obviously, if the winds kick up later this afternoon and we were to lose containment of the fire, a larger area could be affected and under threat,” the chief said. Over 400 firefighters and more than 75 “ground and aerial resources” are committed to the Bryson Fire, he said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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