Several California homes ablaze in ‘critical fire weather threat’

California: A fast-moving fire has destroyed several homes in southern California as hot, windy weather gripped the region on Friday (California time), prompting evacuations and power outages.

The wildfire started in the coastal city of San Clemente, around an hour south-east of Los Angeles, and quickly moved into nearby San Juan Capistrano. It was one of several fires burning in the region that was hit by dry, warm and gusty north-east winds known as Santa Anas, which blow from the interior of southern California toward the coast and offshore, were forecast. The strongest winds were expected through Friday afternoon (California time).

The fires have led to evacuations and tens of thousands of people in the state without power after their electricity was turned off.

A blaze in Malibu, a coastal suburb of Los Angeles, prompted evacuation orders and warnings for a large swath of the Santa Monica Mountains. A large cloud of black smoke over the hilltops could be seen on nearby cameras and kilometres away.

Winds from 32km/h to 56km/h were expected on Friday, with gusts forecast to reach 80km/h to 112km/h in some areas, the National Weather Service said.

With humidity levels dropping, “this will favour a critical fire weather threat”, the service said early Friday.

More than 400 firefighters battled the Bryson Fire overnight, which spanned 100 hectares on Friday morning. It had threatened a Los Angeles County juvenile detention and rehabilitation facility, which was evacuated on Thursday night.

The most critical fire weather will be seen through Friday afternoon, when the strongest and longest-lasting winds are expected, said Kevin McGowan, director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. Weather conditions that increase the fire risk were expected to last through Saturday night.

“Strong winds and very dry conditions will continue to cause fire starts to spread rapidly, so we’re urging everyone to remain vigilant,” he said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who faced criticism for her city’s response to deadly fires in 2025, directed the fire department to deploy personnel and equipment ahead of the winds. The fire department also requested assistance from the state’s office of emergency services.

“It’s a pretty widespread event of elevated fire weather, so the whole SoCal region should really be on alert,” said Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Elevated, though brief, critical fire weather conditions were also forecast for portions of the Santa Lucia mountains in San Luis Obispo County.

In Orange County, a wind-driven fire that started in the hills of the coastal city of San Clemente quickly grew to 81 hectares, prompting evacuations in San Clemente and in neighbouring San Juan Capistrano.

The fire was threatening buildings, and strong winds were pushing the flames toward San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler told KTLA-TV.

Firefighters on Friday worked to contain two other fires that had sparked on Thursday afternoon and triggered evacuation orders in the city of Azusa, north of LA, and Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.

More than 175,000 customers in northern, central and southern California were without electricity as of Friday, according to poweroutage.com.

In January 2025, the Palisades fire, fanned by Santa Ana winds, ripped through a hillside Los Angeles neighbourhood, killing 12 people and destroying mansions. Authorities determined the Palisades fire was a carry-over from another fire that authorities alleged was started intentionally by a 29-year-old man.

Another fire that burned at the same time in the city of Altadena, in Los Angeles County, killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9400 homes and businesses. That fire was caused by sparks from an idle transmission tower owned by Southern California Edison, officials said.

AP

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